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A Robust and Diverse Water Portfolio Enables Arizona to Meet the Challenges Ahead

Over the past five weeks, we have described the wide range of water resources available to meet Arizona’s current and future needs.  These resources include groundwater, in-state surface water, Colorado River water, long-term storage credits, and reclaimed water.  We also discussed the latest developments on groundwater availability in the Phoenix Active Management Area.  As these […]

Colorado River Update:  Reclamation Issues FR Notice for Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has initiated the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) process for post-2026 operational guidelines and strategies of Lake Powell and Lake Mead.  This process is in addition to the Draft Supplemental EIS we discussed in April, which is intended to ensure that the reservoirs continue to be able to produce power and […]

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The Rise of Reclaimed Water:  Reuse of Water in Arizona, Already Important, is Primed to Grow Alongside Increasing Scarcity of Other Water Sources

It seems that not a day goes by without another news story bringing Arizona to the forefront of a national dialogue about water security in a time of drought, changing climate, and growing population. This article is Part 6 of Snell & Wilmer’s series providing context for that dialogue as it applies to Arizona’s diverse […]

Biden Administration Considers Interrupting the “Law of the River” Status Quo

by Fred Breedlove The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released its Near-term Colorado River Operations Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, analyzing three paths forward for managing the Colorado River in light of the potentially dire consequences if they fail to act.  The Draft SEIS describes three potential choices without making a specific recommendation: (1) do […]

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As Colorado River Conditions Continue to Deteriorate, the United States Warns that More Cuts will be Required and the Basin States Consider Options

by L. William Staudenmaier The Colorado River is a critical water source for more than 40 million people, vast agricultural operations, numerous industries, and a wide variety of ecological resources across the seven states that share its waters: Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.  The River is regulated by the United States […]

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Basin States Agree to Reduced Colorado River Deliveries

by Fred Breedlove Less than two weeks ago, we wrote that the Department of Interior proposed reducing Colorado River deliveries in 2022 by 480,000 acre-feet and that Assistant Secretary Trujillo had asked the Basin States for comments on this proposal.  Wasting no time at all, the Basin States responded last week. In a letter dated […]

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Reclamation Declares Tier 1 Shortage on Colorado River for 2022

by Fred Breedlove The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) published its August 2021 24-Month Study on Monday, effectively declaring a shortage on the Colorado River for the Lower Colorado River Basin.  The August study predicts that the elevation of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam will continue to be below 1,075 feet (the level that triggers […]

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Colorado River Lower Basin States Face Tier 1 Shortage and Maybe More

by Fred Breedlove The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s April 24-Month Study, published this week, as expected, signals a significant likelihood of reduced water deliveries in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River to Arizona, California, and Nevada. Not only does it suggest a high likelihood of Tier 1 reductions for 2022 and 2023, but it […]

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Drought and Water Demand Continues in Spite of COVID-19 Pandemic

by Fred Breedlove The demands on government and private water providers to address the declining availability of water resources in the southwest did not get a reprieve, unfortunately, when the COVID-19 virus emerged in February. Last August, I wrote that even though the snowpack that feeds the Colorado River was 145% of normal for 2018-2019, […]

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Colorado River News is a Mixed Bag: Heavy Snowmelt Can’t Prevent “Tier Zero” Shortage

by Fred Breedlove Every year, Colorado River water users anxiously wait for the results of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (“BOR”) August 24-Month Study Report. While the report is updated and published monthly, the August report is particularly significant because it sets the operational tier level for coordinated operation of Lakes Mead and Powell for the […]

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