The Colorado River has entered one of the most consequential periods in its history. As drought, climate change and historically low reservoir levels strain the system, the seven basin states have failed to agree on new rules for sharing the river. The federal government has now stepped in, adopting operating guidelines for 2027 and 2028 that impose major reductions on the Lower Basin states while leaving the Upper Basin without mandatory cuts for now.
The federal framework keeps negotiations open for longer-term rules, but it also raises the prospect of deeper reductions and litigation if the states remain divided.
Yet many of the most important decisions are being debated behind closed doors. Top negotiators from the basin states and federal government regularly meet in private, drawing criticism from transparency advocates and tribal leaders who argue that the public deserves a clearer view into decisions that will shape the future of the American West.
Through public records requests and original reporting, this project examines how those decisions are made — and who is left out of the room.
A federal plan for the Colorado River means big water cuts for Arizona. The Phoenix and Tucson areas will be hit hard. City leaders say they can keep taps flowing, but solutions will be expensive.
The drama engulfing the seven states in the Colorado River Basin could take another, more perilous, turn in a few weeks. Water experts are warning that by October, the river’s flow may cross a critical threshold at Lee’s Ferry, a bend in the river in Arizona that has been a bellwether of the river’s health for decades.
States that share the Colorado River have been meeting behind closed doors. But as they’ve failed to forge a deal for the river’s future, more are questioning the negotiation process itself.
The Colorado River stretches 1,450 miles across the U.S. And for just 17 miles, the river flows through the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe’s reservation, which spans across three states: Arizona, California, and Nevada.
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ABOUT THIS PROJECT
This series is from the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between public media stations in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, along with NPR.
It is reported by Alex Hager at KJZZ; Ishan Thakore at Colorado Public Radio; Rachel Cohen, a bureau reporter at KUNC; Jimmy Romo at KNPR; and Zack Newman for the bureau in collaboration with the University of Colorado Water Desk. Visualization by Austen Erblat.