US government planning dramatic Colorado River water cuts due to drought, overuse
- By Noman Awan -
- May 16, 2026
The US government has proposed a new water-sharing plan for the drought-stricken Colorado River that could cut up to 40% of current supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada, according to a senior Arizona official.
With a 20-year-old plan expiring this year, and talks between seven states that share the river at an impasse, the federal government late last week intervened with a strategy to deal with severe water shortages, according to Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
The US Bureau of Reclamation proposed a 10-year plan in which Arizona, California and Nevada would potentially cut water use by up to 3 million acre-feet per year to maintain water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s severely depleted reservoirs, Buschatzke told a meeting of Arizona water stakeholders on Wednesday. Three million acre-feet of water is enough to supply 6 million to 9 million households for one year, more than the number of homes in Arizona and Nevada.
NEARLY TWICE THE CUTS AS BEFORE
The maximum possible federal cuts, which would be reviewed every two years based on water levels, are nearly twice as large as a May 1 offer, by those three lower-basin states to reduce their water use by 1.6 million acre-feet per year.
“Given the risk and uncertainty facing the Basin, these elements are designed to provide stability while allowing flexibility to incorporate consensus-based recommendations as they develop,” the Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement on its proposal, without providing further details.
Buschatzke said the federal plan would be either implemented under existing Colorado River law or through agreements among the states. He said federal officials had indicated that water cuts across the three lower-basin states would be based on the “priority of the law of the river.” That law, the 1922 Colorado River Compact, gives California the highest priority for water use.
Buschatzke described the proposed federal cuts as “sobering.”
“That’s us, that’s Arizona, and potentially CAP going to zero,” said Buschatzke, referring to water flows on the Central Arizona Project, a canal that transports Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona.
Water releases from Powell and Mead, which serve seven states, would range from 5 million to 12 million acre-feet per year under the federal plan.
“I think we all know that unless Mother Nature starts doing her job, it’s going to be closer to the bottom end of this range,” said Buschatzke.