Interior Department Mandates Colorado River Water Cuts for Lower Basin

The U.S. Department of the Interior published a two-year operating plan on August 21, 2026, mandating deep water use cuts for Arizona, California, and Nevada. The plan requires the Lower Basin states to reduce water use by approximately 1.25 million acre-feet annually through 2028 to prevent the collapse of the Colorado River system after Lake Mead and Lake Powell hit record lows. Arizona faces the steepest reductions at 760,000 acre-feet, followed by California at 440,000 and Nevada at 50,000.

Upper Basin states—Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—face no mandatory cuts under the plan. This disparity has sparked tension; Colorado officials at the Colorado Water Congress defended their water rights, arguing that Lower Basin states recklessly depleted reservoirs and failed to conserve until 2022. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs supported the deal as a necessary alternative to more draconian federal cuts that could have crippled the state economy, though she criticized the federal government for not holding Upper Basin states accountable.

While Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke characterized the outcome as a positive alternative to unilateral federal action, the state had previously threatened lawsuits over the lack of transparency regarding Compact rights. Experts and regional leaders warn that the short-term nature of the agreement may lead to further litigation or system failure if the seven basin states cannot reach a long-term consensus on sharing the burden of the record drought.