Nevada, California, Arizona propose water plan pushing cuts to 20%

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Water officials from Nevada, Arizona and California say they will make extra contributions by reducing their use of the Colorado River. Combined with earlier commitments, the proposed cuts add up to a total of about 20% of the states’ water allotments.

The plan, released Friday by the three states, would stabilize the river through 2028, according to a joint news release. It adds an extra contribution of 700,000 acre feet of water to cuts already in place. An acre foot is literally the amount of water it takes to cover an acre of land in water a foot deep. That’s 325,851 gallons, enough water to supply two to three households for a year.

Las Vegas relies on the Colorado River for 90% of its water, but recycling has consistently allowed Southern Nevada to use a lot less water than Nevada’s full allotment. Recycled water is returned to Lake Mead, and that is subtracted from the state’s “consumptive use” of the river. After all the math, Southern Nevada uses about two-thirds of its water allotment. Nevada is seen as a conservation and recycling model for other states to follow.

“This proposal is about moving from ideas to implementation,” John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), said in a statement included in the news release.

“It pairs real measurable water contributions with sensible dry-condition operations at Lake Powell and across the Upper Initial Units. Now is the time for every water user in the Basin to double down on water conservation as we face historically dry hydrology.”

The timing of the announcement comes as the federal government is working on a plan to replace a set of Colorado River rules that expire at the end of 2026. The three states behind the proposal, along with the four states in the Upper Colorado River Basin — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — were unable to reach a consensus agreement. That’s when the federal government said it would put its own plan in place.

The Upper Basin states are asking for mediation, but the new proposal addresses what Lower Basin states see as an urgent need for immediate action — from every state. “The Lower Basin states stand ready to engage in a meaningful process for long-term solutions while encouraging the Upper Basin to step forward now with verifiable water contributions to help stabilize the system and support a near-term, seven-state bridge,” the news release said.

Friday’s plan involves cuts from the Lower Basin states, but those are contingent on actions at Lake Powell and reservoirs farther up the river. Without federal backing, those upstream actions are unlikely to happen. The plan also asks for congressional funding to assist states in making changes.

“I think the scariest thing about this proposal is that we are hearing the top water officials on the Colorado River system talk about elevations of Lake Mead going to depths that we have never seen before,” Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, told 8 News Now on Monday.

“It’s no surprise that the leadership of the Southern Nevada Water Authority played a big role in developing this because it focuses on conservation. And the conservation that we are seeing proposed is the type of thing that Las Vegas is built and ready to handle. It also signals that other communities are getting serious about this as well,” he said.

Roerink said Nevada can handle big cuts that are coming, but other states are far behind in adjusting to the realities of drier conditions.

“They’re manageable because we’ve taken on the challenge of turf removal, watering restrictions, septic tank removal, moratoriums on evaporative cooling and data centers. This is why we have the resiliency,” Roerink said.

While every state is conserving some amount of water, the Lower Basin states are doing the hard work of trying to come up with a plan, Roerink said. The Upper Basin hasn’t been a part of that. Instead, those states are “digging in their heels,” he said.

California is by far the biggest user of Colorado River water, which flows through pipes and channels to metro Los Angeles and farmland in the Imperial Valley.

“With this proposal, the Lower Basin is putting forth real action to stabilize water supply along the Colorado River. We’re putting forward additional measurable water contributions for the system. Without that, the system will continue to decline,” JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, said.

Up to now, Arizona has taken the steepest cuts as the desert Southwest has struggled through a federally declared water shortage since 2022. Farmers in Arizona were the first to have their water supplies reduced.

Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said the proposal reflects the creativity and commitment of water users across the Lower Basin. “We have shown that collaborative, voluntary efforts and reductions that are certain can produce meaningful water savings,” he said.

Roerink, who acknowledges that this year will likely be “one of the worst ever in recorded history in the Colorado River system,” said the plan from the Lower Basin states could go a long way in preventing hysteria. Making changes now could ensure that Lake Mead doesn’t drop to dangerous levels, he said.