Colorado
US Plans to Limit Water Usage from Colorado River
The U.S. government plans to reduce the amount of Colorado River water several states are permitted to use next year.
The river supplies water to seven Western states, more than 20 Native American tribes, and two states in Mexico.
Those states and the country of Mexico are also considering plans for how to share the water after 2026. That is when many current rules and agreements about the use of Colorado River water will come to an end.
The river brings water to millions of hectares of farmland in the American West. Hydroelectric dams on the river produce power. Experts say increased water use, combined with rising temperatures and dry weather, are the reasons for the need to make cuts.
In 2007, following years of dry weather, the U.S. states in the river’s basin and the federal government agreed to rules to help deal with lower water levels. The states involved were Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Those rules determine when some of the states must cut their water usage based on levels at Lake Mead. The lake is on the border of Nevada and Arizona. It provides water for hydropower, farming, and other needs.
Because of the need for new rules, states, Native American tribes, and others are forming new plans to deal with even deeper water cuts that might happen in 2026.
The federal government will announce water cuts for 2025 based on levels at Lake Mead. If Lake Mead drops below a level that has been agreed to, Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico will face cuts. However, California might not face cuts because the current rules give that state special water rights.
Last year, Arizona, California and Nevada agreed to save an extra 3 million acre-feet of water in addition to the cuts the federal government had already required. An “acre-foot” is equal to about 1.2 million liters. In return, the U.S. government agreed to pay water districts and other users for much of that reduction in water use.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are in the river’s Upper Basin. Those states have not used all of the water the rules permit them to use. For this reason, they have not yet had to reduce the amount of water they take from the river.
Wet weather in 2023 and efforts to save water by Lower Basin states have increased the level of Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Lake Powell in Utah is another body of water that holds and releases water from the river.
However, experts say higher temperatures will continue to reduce water in the Colorado River in the coming years.
In March, Upper and Lower Basin states, tribes and environmental groups proposed plans to deal with likely water reductions in the future.
Arizona, California and Nevada asked the federal government to include water levels at other reservoirs besides Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Their plan says that if the whole system drops below 38 percent of the maximum amount of water it can hold, the Upper Basin and Mexico should share deeper cuts equally with the Lower Basin.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming want larger and sooner cuts when water is low at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. The cuts would affect California, Arizona and Nevada. Their plan does not call for reductions in how much water Upper Basin states use.
The federal government is expected to propose new rules by December. The rules would consider the different plans and possible steps for the future. Until then, states, tribes and other groups will continue negotiations on water.
I’m Andrew Smith. And I’m Anna Matteo.
Suman Naishadham wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
basin –n. the area drained by a river
determine –v. to officially decide
acre-feet –n. a measure of volume used specifically in the United States for large-scale water use which is equal to about 1.2 million liters
district –n. a special area created by a government for a special purpose
reservoir –n. a body of water usually formed by a dam that is meant to be used as a water supply
Colorado
Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild
The Colorado Avalanche had a chance Thursday night to regain some real separation between them and the Minnesota Wild.
It didn’t happen, and special teams were again an issue.
Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek scored a pair of power-play goals, while the Avalanche took too many penalties and did not convert its chances with the extra man in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena. The Wild scored on two of six power plays, both in the second period, then added a shorthanded goal into an empty net for good measure.
“We took six (penalties). Six is too many, especially against a power play like theirs,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We had a slow start to the second and then just kind of started getting going, then took a bunch of penalties and kind of took the momentum away and swung it back in their favor again.”
Mackenzie Blackwood was excellent early in this contest and stopped 31 of 34 shots for the Avs in his first start since the Olympic break. Colorado, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, has not scored an extra-man goal in back-to-back games since Dec. 31 and Jan. 3. The Avs are 2-for-31 with the man advantage since Jan. 16, and at 15.1% are last in the NHL.
The Wild are now just five points behind the Avs in the Central Division, though Colorado has two games in hand. Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves for the visitors.
“I think we crated enough chances to win the hockey game,” Bednar said. “We give up the (second power-play goal) and that’s the difference in the hockey game for me. We had a chance (on the power play) … we score and it’s a tie game. We haven’t had an easy time capitalizing on some of our chances that we created in the last month.
“I’d like to see that turn around a little bit.”
Minnesota took advantage of three penalties on Colorado in a span of 53 seconds to take the lead with 2:23 left in the second period. Captain Gabe Landeskog was sent to the box for elbowing Eriksson Ek away from the play at 14:15 and Valeri Nichushkin was called for cross-checking at 15:04.
That gave the Wild a 5-on-3, but it went from bad to worse in a hurry for the home side. Brock Nelson won the 3-on-5 in his own end, but Brent Burns’ backhanded attempt to clear the puck out of the zone went into the stands for a delay of game.
Minnesota had a 5-on-3 for 1:56, which Colorado successfully killed off, but because Burns’ two minutes didn’t start until Landeskog’s penalty ended, there was more 5-on-4 time and Eriksson Ek scored his second of the night. The Swedish Olympian was trying to send a cross-crease pass to Kirill Kaprizov, but it hit the inside of Blackwood’s right leg and pinballed across the goal line.
Because of the extended penalty time, both Eriksson Ek and Boldy officially logged a shift of more than four minutes, leading to that goal.
“I’m not a big fan of the penalties we took, necessarily,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, mine is a penalty. Val, I felt like he was protecting himself and Burns, that’s a penalty. There’s nothing to argue about there. But yeah, that tilts the ice for sure and just gives them unnecessary momentum.
“So yeah, undisciplined and we’ve got to be better there for sure.”
Eriksson Ek put Minnesota in front at 7:48 of the second period. Cale Makar was called for slashing when his one-handed swipe while Yakov Trenin was attempting to shoot from the left wing. Trenin’s stick broke, so Makar went to the box.
Blackwood made the initial save on Matt Boldy’s shot from the high slot, but Eriksson Ek was there near the left post to clean up the rebound.
Martin Necas continued his hot run with a goal to even the score at 13:30 of the middle frame. Nathan MacKinnon picked up the puck in his own zone and carried it into the offensive end. He left a drop pass for Necas near the right point and then played fullback, driving Wild defenseman Daemon Hunt back to give Necas space and then providing a screen on a lethal wrist shot from his Czech linemate.
That was Necas’ 24th goal of the season. He added a second goal in the final minute after the Wild had built a three-goal advantage to give him 25 on the season.
It’s also three in two games since the Olympic break. Necas had three goals and eight points in five games for Czechia at the Olympics in Milan, equaling his country’s record for points at the event.
MacKinnon missed Colorado’s first game back on Wednesday because of maintenance. He actually slipped to third in the NHL scoring race as of Thursday morning, in part because Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov has now has 53 points in his past 23 games to track down MacKinnon and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid to make it a three-man race for the Art Ross Trophy.
McDavid (five times) and Kucherov (three) have combined to win the Art Ross in eight of the past nine years. MacKinnon has never won it, but has finished second each of the past two seasons.
Minnesota scored a second goal off a Colorado player to make it a 3-1 game and then added two empty-net tallies around Necas’ second goal to seal the Wild’s sixth win in a row.
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Late Thursday morning, a house fire spreading into the nearby woods in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon prompted officials to issue a pre-evacuation order to nearby residents. Firefighters have since brought the blaze under control.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, a house fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the 10600 block of Ralston Creek Road in Golden Gate Canyon, located around 25 miles west of Denver. The fire then began to spread into the nearby trees and grass.
Multiple fire units quickly responded to the scene, and the JCSO issued a pre-evacuation notice to all residents within a three-mile radius, warning them to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
At 12:34 p.m., the sheriff’s office announced that the fire is no longer spreading and the burn area has been contained to less than an acre. A photo shared by JCSO shows a structure nearly completely destroyed by the fire.
Pre-evacuation orders were lifted around 1 p.m.
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