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White "bathtub rings" show dropping levels on Lake Mead. The reservoir's stores have been dipping steadily, setting records for new all-time lows.

Without agreement among states, federal officials say Colorado River cuts are coming

Record low levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell prompted the federal government to look at how it might impose cuts to keep hydropower generation going at the nation’s largest reservoirs.
Glen Canyon Dam holds back Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River. The lake is currently at 28% of its capacity.

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

The $233 million pact with the Gila River Indian Community, announced in Phoenix, was hailed as an example of the kind of cooperation needed to rescue the river.
Flowers in bloom at Picacho Peak State Park, 2019.

Did spring come late this year?

The Southwest has experienced cooler and wetter conditions.
A view of the Colorado River near the Silver Bridge on the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. From November 2022.

Supreme Court seems split in Navajo Nation water rights case

The justices weighed a dispute involving the federal government and the Navajo Nation’s quest for water from the drought-stricken Colorado River.
Phillip Yazzie waits for a water drum in the back of his pickup truck to be filled in Teesto, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, on Feb. 11, 2021.

Feds want justices to end Navajo fight for Colo. River water

The tribe doesn't have enough water and says that the federal government is at fault.
Pusch Ridge after a March snowstorm.

The Buzz: How snowmelt affects Arizona's water supply

How much will a wet winter improve drought conditions around the state?
Tom Buschatzke (front) signs a water conservation deal with other Colorado River water managers, Dec. 15, 2021. "I thought we had very robust conversations with the California representatives," he said of the January 2023 negotiations.

Was California consulted in recent Colorado River negotiations?

Leaders in other states disagree with that characterization.
Water in the Colorado River system fills Flaming Gorge Reservoir on June 26, 2021.

Feds pause some Flaming Gorge water releases amid a snowy winter for the Colorado River

After states in the Colorado River's Upper Basin filed a request with the Bureau of Reclamation.
The Green River flows beneath the Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah.

Proposed pause on reservoir releases prompts Arizona and Lower Basin states to respond

Those states essentially agreed with the idea of suspending water releases, but said water managers should wait a few months.
A skier cruises down Snowmass ski area, where January brought heavy snow to the mountains that supply the majority of the Colorado River's water. Scientists say this could provide a temporary boost to shrinking reservoirs.

The Rockies are having a snowy winter, but not all of that water will make it to the Colorado River

A snowy January is not enough to overcome conditions caused by years of below-average moisture in the region.
Low water levels at Wahweap Bay at Lake Powell along the Upper Colorado River Basin are shown, on June 9, 2021, at the Utah and Arizona border at Wahweap, Ariz.

Interior: $580M headed to 15 tribes to fulfill water rights

The money will help carry out the agreements that define the tribes' rights to water from rivers and other sources and pay for pipelines, pumping stations, and canals that deliver it to reservations.
The seven states in the Colorado River basin couldn't agree on a plan to conserve unprecedented amounts of water before a federal deadline. Meanwhile, grim projections for the future of water levels in Lake Mead have forced mandatory cuts to water for some users in the lower basin. Federal authorities are trying to prop up levels in the nation's largest reservoir before they dip too low to generate hydropower or allow the passage of water.

California holdout in agreement over Colorado River cuts

Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut their use.
After two decades of drought, parts of Lake Mead that were once underwater have been exposed as the lake falls to historically low levels.

Recent snowfalls may slow water level decline at Lake Mead

Forecasters now expect Lake Mead to finish this year around 1,027 feet elevation, about 19 feet lower than its current level.
A canal carries water from the Colorado River to tribal land in Arizona.

Biden signs water bills benefiting 3 tribes in Arizona

President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday giving leasing authority to the Colorado River Indian Tribes, whose reservation tracks its namesake on the Arizona-California border.
A row of bright yellow aspen trees at Arizona Snowbowl north of Flagstaff.

Climate change and drought are muting bright fall colors as we know them

Researchers in Flagstaff are tracking tree health with a network of cameras to determine how the forests are being affected.
An empty rack of flares sits on the wing of a turboprop Piper PA31T Cheyenne II airplane.

SRP researches cloud seeding in White Mountains to create snow amid historic drought

The state also helps fund cloud seeding programs in Colorado meant to increase flows into the Colorado River.

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