Nevada Sues Over 20% Colorado River Cut Plan as Las Vegas Faces 70% Water Loss
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 24
Nevada Sues Over 20% Colorado River Cut Plan as Las Vegas Faces 70% Water Loss
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 24
Summary
Nevada asked a federal court on Monday to void the Interior Department’s new Colorado River framework, saying Southern Nevada could lose more than 70% of its share under the plan.
The plan issued Friday cuts about 20% of water deliveries to lower-basin states—Nevada, Arizona and California—over the next two years, while upper-basin states face no mandatory reductions.
Governor Joe Lombardo and the Southern Nevada Water Authority said conservation gains of roughly 40% cannot offset cuts of that scale for Las Vegas and other fast-growing population centers.
Arizona has already objected in a formal letter, and more lawsuits are expected as the seven basin states remain deadlocked before current Colorado River rules expire in October 2026.
The legal fight lands on a river that serves 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of farmland, with overuse and climate-driven drying pushing management decisions toward the courts.