Home Care In New River, AZ

New rules for the Colorado River officially go into effect on Thursday, but they won’t bring changes to Arizona’s water quite yet. The state is still working on a three-way deal with California and Nevada to spread out the pain of water cutbacks. Arizona’s water cuts will become official on Jan. 1, 2027, and Arizona’s top water negotiator told KJZZ he’s “very optimistic” about progress on the three-state deal that must be signed by then.

To understand the complicated timeline for new water rules, it helps to take a step back and look at the Colorado River’s complicated calendar.

Federal rules for the Colorado River and its major reservoirs typically run on a different calendar than the rest of the world. The “water year” runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. So, starting Thursday, will start changing the amount of water sent from Lake Powell downstream to Lake Mead.

However, the amount of water delivered from Lake Mead to people farther downstream — like and huge farm districts in California — is managed in line with the normal calendar, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

So even though the amount of water flowing into Lake Mead will be different this week, the amount of water flowing out of it won’t change until the beginning of 2027.

The three states that pull water from the Colorado River downstream of Lake Mead — Arizona, California and Nevada — have until the new year to formalize an agreement that is designed to run in parallel with the new federal rules. The federal plan places the significant majority of cutbacks on Arizona, and the other two states have instead of letting it fall so heavily on Arizona.

What’s the main holdup?

When the federal government announced its new plan in August, leaders from those three states talked about their side deal in fairly certain terms. However, a few things have gotten in the way since then, leaving the agreement in limbo.

The first is the complicated process of figuring out which cities and farms, specifically, will be using less water going forward.

“It's kind of been the story of the Colorado River for many years now,” said John Berggren, a water policy expert with the environmental nonprofit Western Resource Advocates. “The people negotiating these agreements reach a high-level agreement of ‘Here's what we're willing to do,’ and then they have to go back and shop it around their state and make sure they can get their water users on board with what they are tentatively agreed to.”

Tom Buschatzke, Arizona’s top water negotiator, said Arizona and Nevada have plans in place, and California is “working out final details” on how to cut back enough water across some of its largest users. That includes the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves about 19 million people in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, and the Imperial Irrigation District, a powerhouse farming region that uses more Colorado River Water than any other entity.

Buschatzke said states are “putting all the final touches” on the agreement before sending it to the boards of those organizations and others in the participating states.

“It's more dotting I's and T's,” he said. “I'm very optimistic, based on recent discussions, that we're going to close on the agreement language in a way that it will be then ready to go to various boards over the next few weeks.”

Nevada’s lawsuit

Also complicating the three-state deal was a bombshell legal action. Nevada caught many by surprise when it , arguing that the Interior Department failed to check certain legally-required boxes while drawing up its new strategy.

The lawsuit is still working its way through the legal system, but may have slowed down negotiations between Nevada and its allies.

“People are interested in waiting to see how the federal government responds,” Berggren said, "Which we should know in the next month or so. So, depending on how they respond, I think that will dictate what other people do.”

Nevada is suing the federal government over cuts to its allocation of Colorado River water. It came as a surprise to many who follow water policy.

Arizona’s Buschatzke indicated that the legal action played some role in talks between the three states.

“The Nevada lawsuit was something we did have to deal with in regards to the Lower Basin Agreement,” he said. “It did take some time, I think, to work through how that all would fit together. But I do think there's a positive path forward to deal with the Nevada complaint and to get the Lower Basin Agreement over the finish line.”

In a memo to the federal government, John Entsminger, Nevada’s top water leader, wrote that his state is “committed to working cooperatively towards finalizing and implementing the Lower Basin agreement.”

Arizona’s Legislature

Once the three-state deal is signed by negotiators, it would also have to clear one important hurdle: the Arizona Legislature. Of the seven states which use the Colorado River, Arizona is the only one in which state lawmakers have a chance to approve or block interstate water-sharing agreements.

Earlier this year, that he wouldn’t sign a three-state deal unless he was confident it would get approval from the Legislature, which may require a special session.

Since then, however, the state’s water matters have surged into the political spotlight. Gubernatorial candidates Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and her challenger, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs, have made . In races all over the ballot, candidate speeches, TV ads and lawn signs have also highlighted water policy.

In early September, Republican state lawmakers asked Buschatzke’s agency, the Arizona Department of Water Resources, to provide more updates on Colorado River matters, indicating that they are not getting the same updates as Governor Hobbs.

Despite the drift of water matters , Buschatzke still believes a three-state Colorado River deal will get bipartisan approval.

“We've been briefing the legislature quite a bit on the agreement itself and its status,” he said. “I believe, at the end of the day, that the agreement will go through the legislature once we get there. It is an agreement that shows strong collaboration among the three states.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct the duration of the water year and normal calendar year.

PHOENIX — Arizona is taking its fight over the future of the Colorado River to court. The Arizona Department of Water Resources announced on Friday that they are joining Nevada's lawsuit against the Federal Government over the new Colorado River cuts.

The legal action comes after years of failed negotiations among seven Western states over how to divide the Colorado River's dwindling water supply.

In August, the federal government finalized a new operating plan for the river that requires Arizona, California and Nevada to reduce their water use, while imposing no mandatory reductions on the four Upper Basin states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

See previous coverage of Arizona's river battle in the video player above

If the states finalize their proposed sharing agreement, Arizona would absorb 760,000 acre-feet of those annual reductions, representing roughly 27% of its full Colorado River allocation.

Arizona officials have argued that the Upper Basin should be required to contribute to mandatory conservation efforts, rather than leaving the Lower Basin to absorb the reductions.

The Upper Basin states maintain that they already use less water when river flows decline and that their legal obligations differ from those of downstream states.

Arizona has been preparing for a court battle

The possibility of litigation is not new.

Arizona lawmakers previously set aside millions of dollars for potential legal action, while the Arizona Department of Water Resources retained outside legal counsel to defend the state's Colorado River interests.

In August, the City of Phoenix lawyered up for a potential lawsuit. In September, the governing board of the Central Arizona Project also authorized its attorneys to pursue legal action under certain circumstances.

Meanwhile, Nevada filed its own lawsuit against the federal government in August, challenging the process used to develop the new operating guidelines.

What does this mean for Arizona?

The outcome will have significant consequences for millions of Arizonans who rely on Colorado River water.

The Central Arizona Project delivers water through a 336-mile canal system to communities, farms and tribal water users across central and southern Arizona, including the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas.

While the federal government's new operating framework took effect October 1, reductions to Arizona's water deliveries are scheduled to begin January 1, 2027.

Even deeper cuts remain possible in subsequent years under the federal government's ten-year framework. The legal dispute adds another layer of uncertainty as Arizona and its neighboring states work to secure a long-term agreement governing one of the West's most important water sources.

PHOENIX — Arizona enters a new water year Oct. 1 as major changes loom for how the Colorado River is managed and how much water the state will receive in the years ahead.

But Arizona’s water supply won’t immediately drop.

“Our water supplies are not changed for the remainder of 2026,” Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said in a statement to ABC15. “The beginning of the new Water Year, Oct 1, begins a new ‘Lake Powell to Lake Mead’ release pattern. But any impact to Arizona’s water supplies under the new guidelines don’t occur until Jan 1 2027.”

The federal government continues to try and manage historically low reservoir levels in Lakes Mead and Powell. Earlier this year, they authorized a release from Flaming Gorge in Utah to help with water levels.

Under the new Colorado River operating guidelines, Arizona’s reduction would total 760,000 acre-feet starting Jan. 1, 2027, assuming the Lower Basin states implement their proposed agreement for sharing the reductions. That represents roughly 27% of Arizona’s normal 2.8 million acre-foot Colorado River allocation.

Exactly how much less Colorado River water will get to Valley cities is still being determined.

“At this point, Phoenix does not yet have a final, confirmed volume or percentage for how much of that reduction will be reflected in the City’s Central Arizona Project supply,” a Phoenix Water Services Department spokesperson Michael Gertzman said. “CAP has continued to characterize the allocation numbers as provisional while the details are finalized.”

The reductions follow years of Colorado River shortages that have already significantly reduced CAP deliveries to agricultural users in central Arizona. Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, said while taps won’t go dry, residents could eventually notice the effects in their bills.

“We will be hearing from our water providers, to be as efficient as we can, conserve where we can, and we may see our rates go up,” Porter said.

The federal government’s new approach is also facing a legal challenge. The Southern Nevada Water Authority sued the Department of the Interior in August, asking a federal court to block the new operating plan.

No court date has been set yet in Nevada’s lawsuit.

Arizona will experience its largest-ever reduction in Colorado River supply beginning in 2027.

The federal government has finally adopted a new framework for managing the Colorado River and a two-year delivery plan. The framework is intended to stabilize the Colorado River system, which has been plagued by drought since 2000. Unfortunately, the plan does not protect the river, and it leaves Arizona in a precarious position.

Right now, water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the river’s two biggest reservoirs, are so low that they might not be able to release water soon. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has put the responsibility for stabilizing the system on Arizona, California and Nevada — but not Colorado, New Mexico, Utah or Wyoming.

The bottom line is that Arizona is taking a major cut to one of its most important water supplies — something that has never happened to this extent. Even bigger cuts could happen in the future.

What the federal decision on the Colorado River actually does and does not do

The hard reality is that hydrology is not improving and is on track to undermine the federal government’s plan. The Basin has been drying for more than a quarter century and conditions worsened again in 2026 after the lowest snowpack on record.

Lake Powell will begin the water year at an elevation that prioritizes protecting the dam infrastructure, limiting how much water will be released into Lake Mead.

What do the Colorado River cuts mean for Arizona?

We need to accept that the Colorado River is a less reliable water source. In this new era, we need to find a path forward to secure other water supplies while tightening how we use our current supplies.

If we’re lucky, cities will see no more than a 20% reduction in Colorado River water in 2027 and 2028. Yet Reclamation’s 10-year framework is structured so that the federal government would allow the CAP to go dry.

Even if Reclamation adjusted its plan to be more equitable, we would still face greater reductions because the river is producing less water.

How the AMWUA Cities are responding

The scale and timing of these reductions are more severe than anticipated even three years ago. The AMWUA cities have been preparing regardless of the federal government’s decision.

Some of those collective efforts include:

What it means for all of us

Arizona will receive significantly less Colorado River water starting in 2027. That’s real, and it matters.

The AMWUA cities have spent decades — not months — preparing for exactly this kind of reduction. And right now, a shortage on the Colorado River does not mean a shortage at your tap, but it does mean we will all need to learn to live with less.

To ensure there is never a shortage at your tap, we must develop new water sources to ensure Arizona’s long-term water security, which is vital to our communities’ resilience. The AMWUA cities cannot do this on their own because new water sources will cost more, and that cost cannot be reflected solely in future water rates.

We need sizeable federal relief for this Colorado River crisis. Arizona also needs to establish a dedicated revenue source, as Texas did last year.

This support is essential for developing new water sources to replace the water we are losing from the Colorado River. These investments are crucial to enhancing our water security now and in the future, enabling us to thrive in the desert despite our new reality of having less Colorado River water.

For 57 years, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has worked to protect our member cities’ ability to provide assured, safe and sustainable water supplies to their communities — Avondale, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. For more information on water, visit .

A new plan for managing the shrinking Colorado River is here, and it will mean big cuts for Arizona’s water supply.

The federal government announced the details of its strategy to rein in demand for the river’s water through 2027 and 2028. Arizona, California and Nevada will be forced to take less, with the most significant reductions coming for cities in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.

While Arizona will be forced to take cuts, the state is actually avoiding much bigger ones.

The Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency which manages reservoirs and dams across the West, announced an outline of its cutback plans in July. The outline gave the agency the ability to cut water for Arizona, California and Nevada by up to 40% each year. The cuts announced today will reduce their annual water supply by about 20%.

The federal government last month unveiled a framework for how Colorado River cuts might work. Now that framework has been filled in with big cuts to Arizona, California, and Nevada.

The federal government is reducing water deliveries to those states by 1.25 million acre-feet each year.

Arizona will take the largest cuts under the new plan. Arizona’s supply will be reduced by 760,000 acre-feet per year. California’s will be reduced by 440,000 acre-feet per year and Nevada’s by 50,000 acre-feet per year.

Additionally, the states are volunteering to cut back more water — at least 700,000 acre-feet total across the two years.

An acre-foot is roughly the amount of water it would take to cover a football field with one foot of water. The Arizona Department of Water resources says one acre-foot is roughly a year’s supply of water for three homes in the Phoenix area.

Despite the sharp cuts, most residents of towns and cities forced to take less water probably will not notice changes. Utility leaders around Central Arizona have seen these cuts coming for years and have taken big, expensive steps to . They will turn to , , and a complex web of transfers and that will keep even the most vulnerable of cities from going dry.

The cutbacks come after state negotiators on a plan for managing water. Representatives from each of the seven states that use the Colorado River had been meeting for years, hoping to find consensus for a plan to bring down demand. They were unable to do that, leaving the federal government in an uneasy and unprecedented position.

Reclamation, then, had to put forth its own plan. It walks a tightrope — attempting to cut back on demand enough to protect the nation’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, without overstepping the government’s limited legal authority on the river and from an aggrieved state.

Water officials in Arizona said the state avoided worst-case water cuts, but could still file a lawsuit if it feels its water rights are being encroached.

“These decisions give them the stable and flexible foundation to continue to operate and serve the various folks that they serve with these water deliveries over the next two years,” said Andrea Travnicek, Reclamation’s assistant secretary for water and science. “But then also have a framework that has a lot of new tools in the toolbox that will help with flexibility as we see changing conditions out there.”

After Arizona, California and Nevada — collectively known as the Lower Basin — learned that the federal government would likely target them with the brunt of cuts, they that offered some mandatory reductions to their take from the river, but softened the impact by implementing those cuts on their terms.

The plan announced today is the result of . Travnicek said the federal government “accepted almost everything” from the Lower Basin’s proposal.

The federal plan does not include mandatory cutbacks from the river’s Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. that, because they are legally required to send a certain amount of water to their downstream counterparts, they are already taking cuts when mother nature leaves them with .

A new plan for the Colorado River was needed, as the massive reservoirs which store its water . Lake Mead, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border near Las Vegas, it has been since it was filled about 90 years ago.

Much Colorado River policymaking over the past few years has been focused on keeping , which straddles the Utah-Arizona border, from falling .

The new plan aims to keep Lake Powell water levels above 3,510 feet, which is 20 feet higher than the minimum level required to operate hydropower generators. That represents a relatively slim margin, but a larger one than some previous plans, which aimed to keep water 10 feet higher than that minimum level.

“It gives a little bit more decision space to see what might be happening while we continue to be in this prolonged drought,” Travnicek said.

Low reservoir levels are the result of an imbalance between supply and demand. For about 26 years, climate change and drought have meant less water flowing into those reservoirs. Humans have not done enough to take less water out in response.

The previous set of rules for managing the river expire at the beginning of October, and the guidelines announced today represent the first two years of a 10-year strategy that will replace the expiring one.

Climate and policy experts have spent the past few years calling for a long-term strategy with major reductions to water demand across the region. This plan does not do that. Instead, it covers the next 10 years, forcing the states that use the Colorado River to come back to the table and tweak the plan every two.

After contentious talks that saw state negotiators spend the better part of two years in virtually total deadlock, they may not be eager to resume meetings soon, as required by this new plan.

Federal officials said they want to keep working with states. If the seven states all agree on a new plan for sharing water, it could supersede the guidelines announced today. At a minimum, Reclamation will try to get states to put their heads together on the next two years of water management after today’s rules expire in 2028.

“We continue to see a prolonged drought in our future,” Travnicek said. “So continuing to work together as a whole within the basin is going to be extremely important.”

Travnicek said her agency will spend this fall looking into water-saving projects that states suggested in a wide-reaching wishlist earlier this year.