Arizona Lawmakers Weigh Colorado River Plan With 3-State Cuts as Federal Impasse Hits 40 Million
Updated
Updated · KJZZ · Aug 24
Arizona Lawmakers Weigh Colorado River Plan With 3-State Cuts as Federal Impasse Hits 40 Million
3 articles · Updated · KJZZ · Aug 24
Summary
Arizona could soon convene a special legislative session to approve parts of a new Colorado River framework that would bring major cutbacks to Phoenix- and Tucson-area water users.
The vote stems from a rare 1980 Arizona statute requiring legislative approval for certain interstate agreements, even though experts say lawmakers cannot block the federal government's river operating plan itself.
What lawmakers may actually control is Arizona's participation in a separate Arizona-California-Nevada deal to spread reductions across three states, softening cuts that would otherwise fall more heavily on central Arizona.
That session could also become a fight over how Arizona absorbs less river water at home, with Democrats pushing tighter groundwater rules and leaders warning the issue may split lawmakers more along rural-urban lines than party lines.
The stakes reach beyond state politics: Colorado River decisions affect cities and farms across the West and nearly 40 million people who depend on the river.