U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

In an email obtained by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Reclamation told various groups that water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona would not be released “due to significant hydropower generation concerns under already strained system conditions.”

The Department of the Interior's final Environmental Impact Statement comes after years of stalled negotiations. What you think of it depends on which groups of states you stand with: The Upper Basin or the Lower Basin.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposal announced Friday spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from facing mandatory water cuts — for now.

Environmental advocates argue that new water-sharing rules can and should keep the river flowing for plants, animals, people and infrastructure.

Bureau of Reclamation commissioner Scott Cameron said his agency is working on a new plan for sharing water, but can't provide exact dates yet.

A new proposal for sharing Colorado River water would bring negotiators together every couple of years. That could create uncertainty and get in the way of big solutions for the future.

The three Western states say their proposal would save 3.2 million acre-feet of water through 2028. That’s enough water to serve more than 25 million people a year.

Lake Powell is at just 23% capacity and approaching the point where water won't be able to flow into its hydroelectric turbines without air causing damage.

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.

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.

Utah and the 6 states that share the river missed a federal Nov. 11 deadline to make progress on a new water agreement. Gov. Katie Hobbs said she has a hard time believing the Upper Basin states can't reduce water use.

"I was a political casualty," said Ted Cooke, a longtime Arizona water manager. Some policymakers in the Upper Basin quietly expressed concern that he might favor the Lower Basin in negotiations.