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Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River

A man walks by a formerly sunken boat standing upright into the air with its stern buried in the mud along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Boulder City, Nev., June 22, 2022. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to ration water or restrict growth. Farmers may confront painful decisions about which crops to stop planting. Those are a few of the dire consequences that could result if states, cities and farms cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. (AP Photo/John Locher) FILE - The Colorado River flows at Horseshoe Bend in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on June 8, 2022, in Page, Ariz. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to ration water or restrict growth. Farmers may confront painful decisions about which crops to stop planting. Those are a few of the dire consequences that could result if states, cities and farms cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson, File) The Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation on Aug. 15, 2022, in northwestern Arizona. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to ration water or restrict growth. Farmers may confront painful decisions about which crops to stop planting. Those are a few of the dire consequences that could result if states, cities and farms cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) FILE - A bathtub ring of light minerals shows the high water line of Lake Mead near water intakes on the Arizona side of Hoover Dam at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on June 26, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to ration water or restrict growth. Farmers may confront painful decisions about which crops to stop planting. Those are a few of the dire consequences that could result if states, cities and farms cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) FILE - A home with a swimming pool abuts the desert on the edge of the Las Vegas valley July 20, 2022, in Henderson, Nev. Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to ration water or restrict growth. Farmers may confront painful decisions about which crops to stop planting. Those are a few of the dire consequences that could result if states, cities and farms cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) A dry irrigation canal runs between fields Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. Kelly Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms. He knows what's at stake as states dither over cuts and expects about half of the area will go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river. (AP Photo/Matt York) Kelly Anderson walks along a dry irrigation canal that once fed his fields, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms. He knows what's at stake as states dither over cuts and expects about half of the area will go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river. (AP Photo/Matt York) Kelly Anderson navigates dormant fields Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms. He knows what's at stake as states dither over cuts and expects about half of the area will go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river. (AP Photo/Matt York) A dry irrigation canal runs between two unplanted fields as new home construction abuts dormant fields owned by Kelly Anderson on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms. He knows what's at stake as states dither over cuts and expects about half of the area will go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river. (AP Photo/Matt York) New home construction encroaches dormant fields owned by Kelly Anderson, left, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms. He knows what's at stake as states dither over cuts and expects about half of the area will go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river. (AP Photo/Matt York) Water from the Colorado River diverted through the Central Arizona Project fills an irrigation canal, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. The river quenches the thirst of 40 million people across the American West and in Mexico. It sustains a $15 billion-a-year agricultural industry. (AP Photo/Matt York) Kelly Anderson shows how dry one of his fields is, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Maricopa, Ariz. Anderson grows specialty crops for the flower industry and leases land to alfalfa farmers whose crops feed cattle at nearby dairy farms. He knows what's at stake as states dither over cuts and expects about half of the area will go unplanted next year, after farmers in the region lose all access to the river. (AP Photo/Matt York)