DRYING UP

Three States Reach Deal in an Attempt Save the Colorado River

The river provides drinking water to 40 million Americans in seven states.

A wet Western winter was kind to Arizona, California and Nevada, the three states that have agreed to take less water from the Colorado River to keep it from going dry. Announced Monday, the deal will send about $1.2 billion in federal funds to the states’ irrigation districts, cities and Native American tribes in exchange for them cutting back on their water use. In recent years, the Colorado River’s water levels have dropped, causing fears to rise of a water and power crisis that could take a serious toll on the Western states that rely on it. But the agreement only runs through 2026, and the other states that depend on the river have yet to reach a deal to cut back, meaning that the risk of the river drying up is still very real.