Federal funding for the Colorado River has largely been on pause since Donald Trump returned to the White House. But now, some is coming back.
The Bureau of Reclamation is extending some contracts to conserve water.
It’s the kind of spending that was common under the Biden administration, but stands out now.
Sarah Porter directs the Kyl Center for water policy at Arizona State University. She says we shouldn’t read into it too much.
"It does indicate, I think, that the bureau and maybe the Interior Department, understand that the Colorado River is in pretty precarious shape, and that, you know, something needs to be done," Porter said.
In total, federal authorities will pay $128 million to farms, cities and tribes in Arizona and California. In exchange, they’ll leave some of their water in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir. It stores water for millions of people in Phoenix as well as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
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Arizona and the six other states that use the Colorado River do not have a new plan to share the shrinking water supply. -
Arizona and six other Western states that use the Colorado River appear poised to miss a deadline for a new water-sharing deal. -
Arizona’s water future depends on negotiations over Colorado River water that are coming to a head right now. -
Tucson City Council meetings were packed with residents protesting Project Blue data center residents were concerned about excessive energy and water use. -
The seven Colorado River basin states have less than a week until a deadline to put forward a plan for how to divide up water in the over-allocated river.
