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Feud Erupts Between Utility, US States Over Colorado River

Seven states receive water from the Colorado River.  The water provides much-needed resources to the cities and residents of each state.  For years this arrangement has worked peacefully with agreed upon usage limitations. The Colorado River has been greatly affected by drought.  This makes it more important to each participating state follows the rules they agreed to regarding water usage. If the states in the so-called lower basin use too much water, additional water can be drawn from Lake Mead per a prior agreement.

“Each basin is entitled to about half the river’s water under rules laid out in a collection of interstate agreements, court rulings, and international treaties. To make sure the Lower Basin states get their share, the Upper Basin states send water from the massive Lake Powell reservoir to the even bigger Lake Mead reservoir downstream. In 2007, the Upper Basin states agreed to send Lake Mead additional water if conditions were right to keep that reservoir from dropping too low,” according to rules lined out in The Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968.

The states in the upper basin are now accusing the Central Arizona project of manipulating their share of water.  To do this, the upper basin states say; the Central Arizona project is using just enough water to require that the lower basin receive additional water from Lake Mead and the upper basin states.  This water is collected as a result of stringent water conservation by the states in the upper basin.  Those states; Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming that it is unfair for Arizona to “game the system.”


The upper basin states sent a blunt and direct letter to Arizona last Friday.  The states voice their concerns and accusations, to which the Central Arizona project has denied.

In a tweet last week, Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project denied the utility was manipulating the river and described its practices as ‘wise management.’

A representative of Denver’s water project said that “Denver Water would stop contributing to a fund that promotes Colorado River conservation unless the Central Arizona Project stopped manipulating the river.”

Another year of drought combined with any misuse of water resources available could be detrimental to the states, cities, counties, and residents that rely on this service.  The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people in the U.S. and Mexico. It’s under increasing strain because demand is rising while the river is shrinking, according to the associated press.