Colorado River

The March heat wave decimated Utah’s already-poor snowpack. That’s bad news for a region that depends on snow for its water supply.

Estevan López, New Mexico's water negotiator, said talks resumed in March, and the upper and lower basin states are using a short-term proposal from Nevada as the starting point.

The Colorado River Basin appears to be gearing up for a legal fight. And the federal government is weighing its options for making the states share the shrinking river.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo released a joint statement Saturday calling on Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico to offer more concessions.

Negotiators are focusing on a five-year agreement for sharing water from the shrinking river. Experts say that would provide some much-needed flexibility.

Utah’s statewide snowpack level has reached a record low. Much of the West is in the grip of a snow drought, impacting everything from water supplies to mountain forests.

State negotiators entered the meeting at a years-long impasse over how water restrictions should be managed during dry years. They now have less than two weeks until a federal Feb. 14 deadline.

Four days of negotiations in a Salt Lake City conference room earlier in January did not appear to have sparked a breakthrough.

The proposals range from taking "no action" to a scenario that might result in water cuts to the lower basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. One alternative developed in partnership with conservation groups would incentivize proactive conservation of the river.

Water leaders in the U.S. West gathered this week in Las Vegas with a hefty task hanging over their heads — figuring out a long-term plan for sharing water from the Colorado River.

“We're closer to the edge of the cliff than we realize,” said one Colorado River expert who worked on a new report outlining what 2026 could hold for Utah’s Lake Powell.

Projects across Utah’s Colorado River Basin meant to protect water supplies and restore rivers are in a holding pattern — including a $200 million reservoir near Price, Utah.