Interior cuts Colorado River water allocations to three states
The Department of the Interior signed 2027–2028 operating guidelines on Aug. 21 that reduce Colorado River allocations to Arizona, Nevada and California amid a 26-year drought and record low snowpack in winter 2025–2026. Lower Basin deliveries will be cut by 1.25 million acre-feet annually—760,000 acre-feet for Arizona, 440,000 for California and 50,000 for Nevada—equaling a 21 percent reduction for those states in 2027 and 2028, with the possibility of deeper cuts later. The river provides water to over 40 million people, hydropower for seven states, 30 tribes and two Mexican states, so the cuts have broad operational and economic consequences.
Lower Basin states will lose 1.25 million acre-feet annually in 2027–2028
Context
The Colorado River basin is in a long drought and reservoir levels are very low. The 2025–2026 winter produced the lowest snowpack on record. Further cuts could follow after 2028 if conditions do not improve.
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