Arizona, other Colorado River Basin States miss deadline for post-2026 water usage deal

PHOENIX – Seven states, including Arizona, missed Tuesday’s federally imposed deadline for a preliminary agreement on how to reduce Colorado River water usage after the current deal expires next year.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and leadership from both parties in the Arizona Legislature sent a joint letter asking Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to guide meaningful negotiations moving forward.

“We urge you to utilize your authorities to ensure that whatever alternative is considered by the Department of the Interior contains measures and enforceable conservation requirements for the Upper Basin to make certain that this crucial water resource remains available for Arizona,” the letter says.

What’s holding up Colorado River water usage deal?

U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, said the three Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada – made a serious proposal for automatic, predictable and shared Colorado River water cuts.

However, the four Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are refusing to accept reductions, according to the Arizona contingent.

“Our upstream neighbors continue clinging to century-old legal positions that ignore today’s reality. Any proposal that doesn’t require every basin state to share in conservation is pure fantasy,” Stanton said in a press release.

Tribal nations and Mexico also have future Colorado River water rights at stake. Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said he won’t let his tribe be overlooked.

“The Gila River Indian Community has more at stake in these post-2026 Colorado River negotiations than almost any other party in the basin, and while we will remain a constructive partner, we will not agree to — and will fight in the courts if necessary — any plan that ignores tribal water rights or treats us as an afterthought,” Lewis said in a press release.

Tribes bestow personhood status on Colorado River

Last week, Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) leadership voted to acknowledge personhood status for the Colorado River under tribal law in an effort to safeguard natural resources.

CRIT is a reservation along the Colorado River in Arizona and California with about 4,300 members from four distinct tribes: Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo.

“This resolution authorizes CRIT to take specific and concrete actions for the river and its ecosystem at a time when, more than ever, it is needed,” CRIT Chairwoman Amelia Flores said in a press release Tuesday. “Within Arizona, CRIT will be inevitably asked to help shoulder the burden of maintaining Arizona’s economy and way of life. This must be a two-way street, however.”

Arizona already had Colorado River water allocation cut

An estimated 40 million basin state residents rely on Colorado River water, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The original 1922 Colorado River Compact was calculated based on an amount of water that doesn’t exist in today’s climate.

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico already had their allotments cut due to low reservoir levels. The Grand Canyon State is absorbing the biggest reduction, losing 18% of this year’s allocation.

“It’s inequitable for Arizona to have to take those mandatory, certain and verifiable cuts without others doing that as well,” Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke told KTAR News 92.3 FM in September.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Heidi Hommel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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