Updated on: August 22, 2026 / 12:01 AM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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Federal officials announced sharp water cuts for the next two years on Friday for three Western states that rely on the imperiled Colorado River.Under the Bureau of Reclamation's plan, California, Nevada and Arizona will collectively reduce water use by 1.25 million acre-feet annually during that period, with the possibility of larger cuts depending on conditions.Arizona will see the biggest cuts, while states upstream — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico — do not face any for now.Meanwhile, neighboring Mexico will reduce its intake by 250,000 acre-feet under a U.S.-Mexico treaty."We've been in this 26-year prolonged drought period," said Andrea Travnicek, the Interior Department's assistant secretary for water and science. "We continue to see a prolonged drought in our future. So continuing to work together as a whole within the basin is going to be extremely important."The Colorado River serves as a water supply source to an estimated 35 million to 40 million people, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. The current rules governing the use of the river's water are set to expire in October, and the seven states have been unable to reach a consensus on sharing it over the long term.
