Federal officials released the finalized plan for Colorado River operations through 2028, including water cuts for Arizona.
The seven states relying on water from the Colorado River will see combined water delivery cuts of 1.25 million acre-feet each year for the next two years. Arizona will see a 760,000-acre-foot cut if the proposed sharing agreement between Arizona, California and Nevada takes effect.
Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the plan and its impact on Arizona.
The water cuts will affect the farms, tribes and communities who use the Colorado River water supply, specifically those in Yuma, La Paz County, Mohave County along with water users in Phoenix and Tucson who get their water supply from Central Arizona Project (CAP), Porter said.
This deal impacts multiple states along the Colorado River. Most notably, California has agreed to cut 10% of its water apportionment per year, Porter said.
The State of Nevada filed a lawsuit against the federal government arguing the water cuts could undermine the state’s economy. Porter said she believed the state of Arizona could argue the same.
“You could almost cross out Nevada and write in Arizona in the Nevada complaint,” Porter said. “People in Arizona have many of the same claims as Nevada.”
