The Colorado River, which provides water to the southwest, has lost about 20% of its current in the past quarter century, and its depleted reservoirs continue to decline. But negotiations aimed at addressing water shortages are at a dead end, with environmental group leaders saying the secrets surrounding the consultations are robbing the public of a heavy opportunity.
Representatives from seven river-dependent states have met regularly over the past two years, trying to hash plans to address serious shortages since 2026, when current rules expired. They meet face to face in offices and hotels in various states and don’t let their place go.
The consultation has been troubled by enduring disagreements about who should cut water and how much.
“We need more transparency and more accountability,” said Kyle Lawlinck, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network. “If we had more of those things, I don’t think we’d be in the situation we are currently.”
Leaders of Roerink and five other environmental groups criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the situation as the Trump administration issued recommendations at a press conference on Wednesday to resolve the river issue.
Roerink said there has been “leadership failures” between state and federal officials, with “everyone else being left in the dark.”
Disagreements about how to allocate forced water cuts created a rift between the two camps. Three basins downstream or downstream of California, Arizona, and Nevada, and four states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. State officials have spoken publicly about spat, but much of the debate has been happening in the public eye.
“The process is backroom negotiations,” said Zachary Frankel, executive director of Utah Rivers Council. “We need to shift governance in the Colorado River Basin… we’re going back to the Hall of Democracy to allow people to engage.”
Frankel said the limited details removed from the negotiator’s “secret backroom” indicate that the authorities are discussing water cuts that are far smaller than what is really needed to address the current shortage.
He said the southwest could soon face a “serious water collision” if local officials do not act faster to consume less from the river.
The Colorado River provides water to cities from Denver to Los Angeles, 30 native tribes and agricultural communities from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico.
It has been overused for a long time, and its reservoir has been decreasing dramatically since 2000 amid a relentless dry state. Research shows that it is driven primarily by the use of fossil fuels, and is enhanced with long stretches that are almost dry, years old.
Near Las Vegas, Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, is currently only 32%.
Upstream of the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell is the second largest reservoir in the country, 29% of its capacity.
“We use a third of water. We are not accountable for the fact that the reservoir is disappearing,” Frankel said. “And we don’t even see the future trend being due to climate change.”
California uses more Colorado River water than any other state, reducing water use under the 2023 adoption. As part of its water-saving efforts, Imperial Valley farmers are in exchange for cash payments.
Most of the water is used in agriculture, and most of it is done in the same way as other crops such as cotton, lettuce and broccoli.
JB Humvee, a commissioner for the Colorado River in California, said the main sticking point of negotiation is how much and when the states in the upper basin are willing to share cuts.
“The river is getting smaller. The less we need to understand how to live, and the upper basin must be a part of it,” Humvee said in an interview. “We’re running out of time.”
According to Humvee, new rules to address shortages will be adopted by the end of 2026, giving federal officials “several milestones” in developing consensus in the coming months.
“The clock is ticking,” he said. “And we’re still in the square one essentially.”
Federal officials have not said what they will do if the state fails to reach a consensus. The impasse increased the likelihood that states could sue each other. This followed a path full of uncertainty that water managers at both camps said they wanted to avoid.
Humvee believes the solution lies in a compromise between the upper and lower states, but that it would be necessary for all to stop clinging to “the legal position of their most aggressive and strict dreamland.”
Experts need to prevent the reservoir from dropping to very low levels.
Published this week in the journal Nature Communications, scientists discovered that in the coming decades, both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at risk of reaching “” levels if current policies remain the same. Researchers said more “sustainable policies” would require greater water cuts across the region.
Federal officials say they recognize the need to move quickly to come up with solutions. In August, Scott Cameron, assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of Interior, said, “The urgency for the seven states in the Colorado River Basin to reach a consensus agreement was never clear. We cannot delay delays.”
However, the coalition of environmental groups raised concerns that federal and state officials are underestimating the usual procedures required when creating new water rules.
The environmental review began under the Biden administration for long-term river management.
Roerink and other supporters noticed the last time the public received it in January as Biden took office. They were expected that the Home Office had released its first draft plan to date, but that has not happened.
“The Trump administration is absolutely missing out on the opportunity to take everyone to the table here and do something meaningful under the time frame where we are obliged to accomplish that,” Lawrink said. “The fact that we haven’t heard anything from the Trump administration is troublesome.”
