Three Western States Propose Plan To Reduce Colorado River Water Use
Arizona, California and Nevada proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a breakthrough in the year-long debacle over how to deal with the ever-increasing problem the has plagued the West and pitted the Western states against one another.
According to PBS News Hour, the plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water from the 1,450-mile river that provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes.
At least half that amount — or 1.5 million acre-feet of water — would have to be conserved by 2024, the plan said. In exchange for temporarily using less water, cities, irrigation districts and Native American tribes in the three states will receive federal funding, though officials did not say how much funding individual users in the states would get.
