Arizona joins Colorado River fight in federal court

PHOENIX —The Arizona Department of Water Resources announced Friday that the state filed a motion to intervene in the Nevada lawsuit challenging the recent federal decision governing water allocation from the Colorado River.

Under the new federal plan, Arizona would absorb a 760,000 acre-feet cut per year, representing roughly 27% of its full Colorado River allocation.

The lawsuit — in conjunction with the Colorado River Commission of Nevada and Southern Nevada Water Authority — asks the court to block implementation of the decision until "legal and technical shortcomings are resolved."

Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said the litigation pathway was never the preferred alternative.

"We were not successful in coming to an equitable outcome among all seven states," he added.

Coming to an agreement

The Department of the Interior's decision, released Aug. 21, would adopt guidelines from 2027 through 2028, creating an immediate framework of stability while states return to the negotiating table to discuss a lengthier, decade-long solution.

Buschatzke told the Deseret News Arizona hasn't yet "embarked on that path" of negotiating with Upper Basin states since the release in August.

The core of the department's decision — and the source of contention between the states — is how the water conservation efforts are split.

The four Upper Basin states (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming) face no mandatory water reductions — they are subject to voluntary conservation goals. The three Lower Basin states (Arizona, California and Nevada), however, could be required to cut their water usage by up to 3 million acre-feet.

Even between the three Lower Basin states, the cuts are not spread evenly. Arizona is expected to accept 61% of the cuts, California 35% and Nevada 4%.

"Such reductions could effectively dry up the Central Arizona Project as well as many of our on-river communities," said Buschatzke. "It would more than double the water cuts agreed to in the Lower Basin Agreement. Arizona believes that taking its action now provides the best path forward for protecting Arizona water users."

Arizona claims the new guidelines "failed to deliver" the water that Lower Basin states are owed: "Like Nevada, Arizona believes the federal government's new operating framework ignores basic elements of the law of the river," said Buschatzke. "It could result in cuts to the state apportionment that would devastate Arizona's economy."

However, he acknowledged that if the state wants to be part of future Colorado River federal negotiations, it needs a seat at the table — and this lawsuit is one way to get there.

"From the time (of) Aug. 21 of this summer, when the federal government published the Record of Decision and the operating guidelines, we have been focusing on negotiating the terms and conditions of the Lower Basin Proposal into the Lower Basin Agreement," he said. "But at the same time, that lawsuit is pending. Things may start moving in court on that Nevada complaint, and we have to have a seat at that table to be able to give Arizona's viewpoint if things start moving in that lawsuit."

Water in the Southwest is drying up

A multistate compact adopted in 1922 designates 1.5 million acre-feet to Mexico, 7.5 million acre-feet to the Upper Basin states, 7.5 million acre-feet to the Lower Basin states and 1.5 million acre-feet to evapotranspiration.

That totals 18 million acre-feet in the Colorado River each year.

However, some experts say much of the conflict the Southwestern states live with now is due to bad math from the beginning of the law — claiming there was never 18 million acre-feet of water to divide in the first place.

Water levels in Lake Mead, located in Arizona and Nevada, have dropped about 30% in only one year. Lake Powell, which sits between Utah and Arizona, is dropping about 3 to 4 feet a month — and it could stop generating electricity soon.

"No state has sacrificed more in collaboration with our Lower Basin state partners; the Lower Basin Agreement demonstrates that we are doing more," Buschatzke added. "But the United States' decision puts the entire burden of sacrifice on the shoulders of three states."

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