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- Utah and six other states failed to agree on a post-2026 plan for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
- The states are still divided on how to account for losses in the Colorado River system.
- Officials are exploring emergency releases from Flaming Gorge due to dire hydrology conditions at Lake Powell.
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox said Utah and the six other Colorado River Basin states aren't done negotiating a new plan for management of the nation's two largest reservoirs along the river.
However, he confirmed that they're still no closer to a concession agreement on a post-2026 operations plan for Lake Powell and Lake Mead despite months of discussions.
"We didn't reach an agreement in this round of negotiations, but we're not done. A solution is still within reach," he said in a statement on Friday. "I'm grateful for the states leaning in, thinking big, and working toward real progress."
Gene Shawcroft, chairman of the Colorado River Authority of Utah, remains hopeful that a long-term agreement can be reached in the coming months, but the Upper Basin states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming are also shifting their attention to the hydrology now — the bigger enemy.
Record-low snowpack in the region has created bleak outlooks for what the reservoir will receive this year. Lake Powell could reach levels that threaten critical infrastructure and prevent power production by the end of this year, according to a new outlook released by the Bureau of Reclamation on Friday.
That has everyone scrambling for a near-term solution, too.
"The river will not wait for politics to catch up. The hydrology demands that we act collectively and immediately to keep the Colorado River system from failure," Shawcroft told reporters on Friday. "Utah will rise to that challenge while ensuring that Lake Powell, Flaming Gorge and other facilities upon which Utahns rely are protected."
What's holding up an agreement?
The two sides agree there isn't as much water in the Colorado River as when the Colorado River Compact was first reached in 1922, divvying up the water between the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada.
They just don't agree on how to handle that shortage, and have spent the past few years trying to settle that before the current Lake Powell and Lake Mead management plan expires this year.
After the states missed another important deadline late last year, federal officials gave them until this week to come up with a "framework solution" or risk that the Bureau of Reclamation will institute its own plan to manage the water.
How and when water is released from Upper Basin reservoirs to maintain certain levels at Lake Powell along the Utah-Arizona border, and how much water is consumed after that, remain some of the biggest sticking points.
Lower Basin states presented a plan to reduce their share of the river to help reduce pulls from the two reservoirs, while calling for more conservation upstream. The states are willing to cut their river allocation by 10% to 27%, the governors of all three said on Friday.
"Our stance remains firm and fair: All seven basin states must share in the responsibility of conservation," they said in a joint statement.
Upper Basin states agree to some of the conservation recommendations, but they also have to deal with uncertain snowpacks that don't affect Lower Basin states as much, said Amy Haas, executive director of the Colorado River Authority of Utah. That led to disagreements, as did discussions over when water is released from Upper Basin reservoirs.
They also believe more reductions are needed to account for losses in the system, which the Lower Basin states didn't agree with, Shawcroft added.
The seven states are still committed to finding some sort of agreement, which is still possible, but they don't have forever. The Bureau of Reclamation has to run some sort of plan once the current deal runs out this year. He hopes the agency's plan for the river is a short-term solution if it's used, which could give states more time for a longer option.
While failing to reach an agreement could ultimately lead to litigation and all sorts of costly issues, that doesn't appear to be an issue right now.
"I'm optimistic that we will not go there," he said. "I'm optimistic we'll find ways to work around those sticky issues."
Looking at near-term solutions
This is the first time these types of negotiations have occurred when Lake Powell is so low. The reservoir is back down to 26% capacity, and fewer releases from Lake Powell have already been enacted to keep reservoir levels as high as possible before the next spring snowmelt inflow.
While long-term discussions continue, officials are also exploring other solutions because the basin may not see much this spring.
"Because of the dire nature of the hydrology, we will be forced to focus on that this year," Shawcroft said.
It's not a done deal, but that could include emergency releases from Flaming Gorge and other reservoirs in the Upper Basin, he said. Despite the poor outlook across the Upper Basin, Flaming Gorge is 80% full, and he said there's still "sufficient" water levels to support it.
Utah will seek that anything released from Flaming Gorge is "fully recovered" through extra storage during next year's runoff, Haas noted.
