Water officials from Nevada, Arizona, and California say they will contribute additional reductions by cutting back their use of the Colorado River. Together with earlier commitments, these proposed reductions total roughly 20% of the states’ water allocations.
The three states released the plan Friday, saying it would help stabilize the river through 2028, according to a joint news release. It introduces an additional 700,000 acre-feet of water cuts on top of existing reductions. An acre-foot refers to the volume of water needed to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot. That equals 325,851 gallons—enough to supply two to three households for a year.
Las Vegas depends on the Colorado River for 90% of its water, but recycling has consistently enabled Southern Nevada to use far less than the state’s full allocation. Officials return recycled water to Lake Mead, which gets deducted from the state’s “consumptive use” of the river. After accounting for those returns, Southern Nevada uses roughly two-thirds of its allotted water. Nevada is widely viewed as a model for conservation and recycling that other states can follow.
“This proposal is about moving from ideas to implementation,” John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), said in a statement included in the news release.
“It pairs real measurable water contributions with sensible dry-condition operations at Lake Powell and across the Upper Initial Units. Now is the time for every water user in the Basin to double down on water conservation as we face historically dry hydrology.”
The timing of the announcement comes as the federal government works on a plan to replace a set of Colorado River rules set to expire at the end of 2026. The three states behind the proposal, along with the four Upper Colorado River Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — were unable to reach a consensus agreement. As a result, the federal government said it would implement its own plan.
The Upper Basin states are calling for mediation, but the new proposal focuses on what Lower Basin states view as an urgent need for immediate action from all states. “The Lower Basin states stand ready to engage in a meaningful process for long-term solutions while encouraging the Upper Basin to step forward now with verifiable water contributions to help stabilize the system and support a near-term, seven-state bridge,” the news release said.
Friday’s plan includes water cuts from the Lower Basin states, but those cuts depend on actions at Lake Powell and reservoirs farther upstream. Without federal support, those upstream measures are unlikely to move forward. The proposal also calls for congressional funding to help states implement the necessary changes.
“I think the scariest thing about this proposal is that we are hearing the top water officials on the Colorado River system talk about Lake Mead reaching depths we have never seen before,” Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, told 8 News Now on Monday.
“It’s no surprise that the leadership of the Southern Nevada Water Authority played a major role in shaping this because it emphasizes conservation. The type of conservation being proposed is exactly what Las Vegas is built and prepared to handle. It also shows that other communities are starting to take this seriously,” he said.
Roerink said Nevada can manage the significant cuts ahead, but other states remain far behind in adapting to increasingly dry conditions.
“They’re manageable because we’ve embraced measures like turf removal, watering restrictions, septic tank removal, moratoriums on evaporative cooling, and limits on data centers. That’s why we have this level of resiliency,” Roerink said.
While every state is conserving water to some extent, Roerink noted that the Lower Basin states are doing the heavy lifting to develop a plan. The Upper Basin states have not been part of that effort and instead are “digging in their heels,” he said.
California remains the largest user of Colorado River water, which flows through pipelines and canals to the Los Angeles metropolitan area and farmland in the Imperial Valley.
“With this proposal, the Lower Basin is taking real steps to stabilize the Colorado River water supply. We are putting forward additional, measurable water contributions for the system. Without them, the system will continue to decline,” said JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California.
So far, Arizona has taken the most significant cuts as the desert Southwest endures a federally declared water shortage since 2022. Farmers in Arizona were the first to see their water supplies reduced.
Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said the proposal reflects both creativity and commitment among Lower Basin water users. “We have demonstrated that collaborative, voluntary efforts and reliable reductions can deliver meaningful water savings,” he said.
Roerink, who acknowledged that this year could be “one of the worst ever in recorded history for the Colorado River system,” said the Lower Basin proposal could help prevent panic. Acting now could keep Lake Mead from falling to dangerously low levels, he said.
The additional 700,000 acre-feet included in the Lower Basin proposal equals about 10% of the river’s flow.
“You can talk about mediation all day, but the states are currently relying on their interpretations of the Law of the River — this complex framework of precedent, statutes, compacts, and regulatory considerations,” Roerink said.
“But the hydrology and climate overall are pushing all of that aside,” he added.
Colby Pellegrino, SNWA deputy general manager of resources, said water levels at Lake Mead continue to decline and could soon reach record lows.
“By the end of the year, because of operational changes the Bureau of Reclamation is implementing, we expect the reservoir to sit at elevation 1,035. That would be near historic lows,” Pellegrino said.
The proposal also considers water levels at Lake Powell. The federal government has already begun retaining more water there instead of sending it downstream to Lake Mead.
“We’ve essentially created a buffer for this community so we can absorb this 50,000-acre-foot reduction in our allocation while still having some unused water available to store locally in Lake Mead or contribute back to the system,” Pellegrino said.
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