Federal officials announced sharp water cuts for the next two years on Friday for three Western states that rely on the imperiled Colorado River.
Under the Bureau of Reclamation’s plan, California, Nevada and Arizona will collectively reduce water use by 1.25 million acre-feet annually during that period, with the possibility of larger cuts depending on conditions.
Arizona will see the biggest cuts, while states upstream — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico — do not face any for now.
Meanwhile, neighboring Mexico will reduce its intake by 250,000 acre-feet under a U.S.-Mexico treaty.
“We’ve been in this 26-year prolonged drought period,” said Andrea Travnicek,
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