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Feds outline 'necessary steps' for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yet
Read full article: Feds outline 'necessary steps' for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yetFederal water officials have made public what they call “necessary steps” for the seven states and multiple tribes that rely on the Colorado River to meet an August 2026 deadline for deciding how to manage the waterway in the future.
Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will lose same amount of Colorado River water next year as in 2024
Read full article: Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will lose same amount of Colorado River water next year as in 2024Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will continue to live with less water next year from the Colorado River after the U.S. government Thursday announced water cuts preserving the status quo.
As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans
Read full article: As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plansThe federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River.
A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it
Read full article: A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for itA plan to help shore up the Colorado River by cutting off water to alfalfa fields in California’s crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support among water managers and farmers.
Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water
Read full article: Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River waterThe Navajo Nation Council has unanimously approved a proposed water rights settlement that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress.
Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system
Read full article: Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River systemPlumbing problems at the dam holding back the second-largest reservoir in the U.S. are spurring concerns about future water delivery issues to Southwestern states supplied by the Colorado River.
Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado River
Read full article: Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado RiverA Native American tribe with one of the largest outstanding claims to water in the Colorado River basin is closing in on a settlement.
In rural Utah, concern over efforts to use Colorado River water to extract lithium
Read full article: In rural Utah, concern over efforts to use Colorado River water to extract lithiumA company’s plan in southeast Utah to extract lithium is adding to an anxiety familiar in this part of the arid American West: how the project could affect water from the Colorado River.
Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges
Read full article: Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challengesFederal officials said Tuesday they will ease water cuts for Western states reliant on the Colorado River next year.
Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts
Read full article: Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cutsArizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a deal to significantly cut their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years.
What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?
Read full article: What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?The Biden administration floated two ideas this week for how Western states and Native American tribes could reduce their water use from the dwindling Colorado River.
Drought over? Spring outlook finds relief -- and flood risk
Read full article: Drought over? Spring outlook finds relief -- and flood riskRecord snowfall and rain have helped to loosen drought’s grip on parts of the western U.S., even pushing it out altogether in California after consecutive dry years.
Las Vegas water agency seeks power to limit residential use
Read full article: Las Vegas water agency seeks power to limit residential useNevada lawmakers are considering a significant shift in water use for Las Vegas, one of the driest major metropolitan areas in the U.S. The water agency managing the city's Colorado River water supply is seeking authority to limit what comes out of residents' taps.
In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save water
Read full article: In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save waterWith drought, climate change and overuse of the Colorado River leading to increasingly dire conditions in the West, the federal Bureau of Reclamation is looking at fallowing as a way to cut water use.
In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation
Read full article: In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporationMore than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile powerhouse of the West flows through the region’s dams, reservoirs and open-air canals.
AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks
Read full article: AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talksCompeting priorities, outsized demands and the federal government's retreat from a threatened deadline all combined to thwart a voluntary deal last summer on how to drastically cut water use from the parched Colorado River.
More questions than answers at Colorado River water meetings
Read full article: More questions than answers at Colorado River water meetingsMore questions than answers are surfacing at a conference in Las Vegas about what to do about projected shortages of Colorado River water relied upon by seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and Mexico.
Drying California lake to get $250M in US drought funding
Read full article: Drying California lake to get $250M in US drought fundingThe federal government says it will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around a drying Southern California lake that's fed by the depleted Colorado River.
Western US cities to remove decorative grass amid drought
Read full article: Western US cities to remove decorative grass amid droughtThirty water agencies that supply cities across the western United States are pledging to rip up lots of decorative grass to conserve water in the over-tapped Colorado River.
Drought in Western US heats up as a Senate campaign issue
Read full article: Drought in Western US heats up as a Senate campaign issueThe consequences of drought and efforts to funnel billions of dollars toward securing water supplies in the West are becoming larger issues in two of the most consequential races for the U.S. Senate.
Stressed Colorado River keeps California desert farms alive
Read full article: Stressed Colorado River keeps California desert farms aliveCalifornia's Imperial Valley, which provides many of the nation’s winter vegetables and cattle feed, has one of the strongest grips on water from the Colorado River, a critical but over-tapped supply for farms and cities across the West.
Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River
Read full article: Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado RiverDire consequences could result if states, cities and farms across the American West cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River.
Body near Lake Mead swimming site 3rd to surface since May
Read full article: Body near Lake Mead swimming site 3rd to surface since MayAuthorities say another body has surfaced at Lake Mead — this time in a swimming area where water levels have dropped as the Colorado River reservoir recedes because of drought and climate change.
Biologists' fears confirmed on the lower Colorado River
Read full article: Biologists' fears confirmed on the lower Colorado RiverConfirming their worst fears for record-low lake levels, National Park Service fisheries biologists have discovered that a non-native predator fish has made its way through Glen Canyon Dam to the lower Colorado River, where it can prey on ancient native fish they have been working to reestablish.
US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower
Read full article: US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropowerFederal water officials have announced that they will keep hundreds of billions of gallons of Colorado River water inside Lake Powell instead of letting it flow downstream to southwestern states and Mexico.
Vegas water intake now visible at drought-stricken Lake Mead
Read full article: Vegas water intake now visible at drought-stricken Lake MeadThe water supply for Las Vegas has marked a milestone, with a water intake breaking the surface of drought-depleted Lake Mead and the activation of a new pumping facility to draw water from deeper in the crucial Colorado River reservoir.
States volunteer to take more cuts in Colorado River water
Read full article: States volunteer to take more cuts in Colorado River waterWater leaders in California, Arizona and Nevada have signed an agreement to further reduce their take of Colorado River water to help stave off wider, mandatory cuts in the future.
US formally removes Colorado River fish's endangered status
Read full article: US formally removes Colorado River fish's endangered statusThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reclassified a rare Colorado River Basin fish called the humpback chub from endangered to threatened status after a decades-old effort to stabilize its populations.
Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom
Read full article: Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loomThe six members of the Colorado River Authority of Utah would oversee the state's negotiations on the drought plan and other rules that expire in 2026. Other states, such as Colorado and Wyoming, also are pursuing projects to shore up their water supply. The lower basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — get specific amounts that are subject to cuts. The Arizona law doesn't affect the Colorado River but could boost water in other streams and rivers for wildlife habitat, recreation or city use. The 29 tribes in the Colorado River basin collectively hold rights to about 20% of its flow.
Bus heading to Grand Canyon rolls over; 1 dead, 2 critical
Read full article: Bus heading to Grand Canyon rolls over; 1 dead, 2 critical(Mohave County Sheriff's Office via AP)DOLAN SPRINGS, Ariz. – A Las Vegas-based tour bus heading to the Grand Canyon rolled over in northwestern Arizona on Friday, killing one person and critically injuring two others, authorities said. “A lot of them were saying the bus driver was driving at a high rate of speed,” he said. The bus was heading to Grand Canyon West, about 2 1/2 hours from Las Vegas and outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Before the pandemic, about 1 million people a year visited Grand Canyon West, mostly through tours booked out of Las Vegas. Rafters who are on trips through the Grand Canyon also can get on and off the river on the reservation.
Congress takes aim at climate change in massive relief bill
Read full article: Congress takes aim at climate change in massive relief billThe energy and climate provisions, supported by lawmakers from both parties, were hailed as the most significant climate change law in at least a decade. “Make no mistake,'' he said, the new legislation "will soon be some of the most significant climate solutions to pass out of Congress to date.'' Marty Durbin, a senior vice president at the Chamber of Commerce, called the package — the first major energy bill in more than a decade — “truly historic” and among the most significant action Congress has ever taken to address climate change. The bill will not only address climate change, but also "promote American technological leadership and foster continued economic growth,'' Durbin said. The dramatic if gradual reduction of HFCs in particular “will bring significant climate relief relatively quickly,'' said Matt Casale, director of environment campaigns for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Water shortages in US West likelier than previously thought
Read full article: Water shortages in US West likelier than previously thought(AP Photo/John Locher,File)CARSON CITY, Nev. – There's a chance water levels in the two largest man-made reservoirs in the United States could dip to critically low levels by 2025, jeopardizing the steady flow of Colorado River water that more than 40 million people rely on in the American West. After a relatively dry summer, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released models on Tuesday suggesting looming shortages in Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the reservoirs where Colorado River water is stored — are more likely than previously projected. Compared with an average year, only 55% of Colorado River water is flowing from the Rocky Mountains down to Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona line. Scientists use what's called the Colorado River Simulation System to project future levels of the two reservoirs. When projections drop below 1,075 feet (328 meters), Nevada and Arizona will face deeper cuts mandated by the plan.
6 Western states blast Utah plan to tap Colorado River water
Read full article: 6 Western states blast Utah plan to tap Colorado River waterThat is not a recipe for creating the kind of meaningful and positive change needed to sustain the Colorado River in the coming decades, they wrote. The Lake Powell Pipeline project would divert 86,000 acre-feet (106 billion liters) of water to Washington County, Utah. Under the agreements between the seven states, cuts would hit Arizona, California and Nevada before affecting Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Although the project isolates Utah from the other states that rely on the river, it would keep pushing for the pipeline, said Todd Adams, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources. The states are contending with a drier future as they renegotiate agreements that detail how Colorado River water is doled out.
Feds give 65 acres of land for border wall infrastructure
Read full article: Feds give 65 acres of land for border wall infrastructureFILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019, file photo government contractors erect a section of Pentagon-funded border wall along the Colorado River, in Yuma, Ariz. The federal Bureau of Land Management said on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, it's transferred over 65 acres of public land in Arizona and New Mexico to the Army for construction of border wall infrastructure. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)PHOENIX The federal Bureau of Land Management said on Tuesday that it has transferred over 65 acres of public land in Arizona and New Mexico to the Army for construction of border wall infrastructure. The agency says its now handing over 53 acres in Yuma County, Arizona, that is needed to install power and other utilities around the border wall there. This marks the second time in the past year that the agency has transferred public land to the military for border wall-related construction.
Bear bites sleeping Utah boy on the face
Read full article: Bear bites sleeping Utah boy on the faceweb-hawk/SXC(CNN) - Utah wildlife officials are searching for a bear that bit a sleeping 13-year-old in the face at a campground in the Moab area. The incident happened Friday along the Colorado River in the Dewey Bridge campground, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in a Facebook post. "The young man was injured on his right cheek and his right ear and was transported to a hospital for treatment. We are currently working with USDA-Wildlife Services and using dogs and traps in an effort to capture the bear," it said. Because it attacked a human, it will be euthanized when it is located, officials said.