{"id":570,"date":"2026-05-20T08:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570"},"modified":"2026-05-20T08:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:03:54","slug":"federal-officials-draft-colorado-river-plan-as-states-miss-deadline-for-long-term-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570","title":{"rendered":"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

YUMA (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Western states still have not reached a long-term agreement on how to share water from the shrinking Colorado River, prompting federal officials to move forward with their own proposal \u2014 a plan that could mean significant new cutbacks for Arizona cities, farms and businesses.<\/p>\n

Read more Arizona dad, teen daughter help rescue 6 from fiery Carefree Highway crash<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is now aiming for a 10-year operating plan for the river system, with prescribed reductions that would be reassessed every two years. The approach comes after years of negotiations among the seven basin states failed to produce a new, durable agreement for the next two decades.<\/p>\n

A river that \u2018just looks lower\u2019<\/h2>\n

As the Colorado River winds through Yuma, residents say the change is visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what\u2019s left today,\u201d one local observer said, as the river continues to supply water for households, industry and agriculture across seven states.<\/p>\n

The stakes are high in Arizona, where Colorado River water supports municipal systems and irrigation districts, including deliveries through the Central Arizona Project canal.<\/p>\n

What the federal plan could mean<\/h2>\n

The bureau\u2019s proposal is intended to protect the river and the system\u2019s two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which have been strained by prolonged drought and rising demand.<\/p>\n

But the plan would also require cuts.<\/p>\n

Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, said the reductions being discussed push right up against what municipal providers can absorb.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not such a deep cut that it would create a lot of disruption for municipal water providers, but it\u2019s right at that edge,\u201d said Porter.<\/p>\n

Read more ASU study finds data centers warming nearby neighborhoods<\/a><\/p>\n

Porter added that under the federal concept, Arizona water users could be required to give up a significant share of their water without being compensated.<\/p>\n

\u201cApproximately just a little bit less than half of the amount of water that would run in the Central Arizona Project Canal in a non-shortage year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Where things stand now<\/h2>\n

Two weeks ago, Arizona, California, and Nevada announced a separate agreement to reduce their reliance on the Colorado River. It is still unclear whether that agreement will take effect as written or whether the Bureau of Reclamation\u2019s federal proposal will be the path forward.<\/p>\n

For now, big questions remain about how Arizona\u2019s cities and agriculture would adapt if the federal cuts move ahead.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Reclamation is expected to announce the next steps later this summer.<\/p>\n

Read more Medical Examiner report traces timeline of ICE detainee\u2019s care in Arizona before death<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Western states still have not reached a long-term agreement on how to share water from the shrinking Colorado River, prompting federal officials to move forward with their own proposal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nFederal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Western states still have not reached a long-term agreement on how to share water from the shrinking Colorado River, prompting federal officials to move forward with their own proposal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T08:03:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T08:03:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570\"},\"wordCount\":454,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570\",\"name\":\"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T08:03:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=570#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"Western states still have not reached a long-term agreement on how to share water from the shrinking Colorado River, prompting federal officials to move forward with their own proposal.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-20T08:03:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal","datePublished":"2026-05-20T08:03:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570"},"wordCount":454,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570","name":"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-20T08:03:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a9d09d32796ef3e5ad0dea5619c725e9.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=570#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Federal officials draft Colorado River plan as states miss deadline for long-term deal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}