ARIZONA JOINS NEVADA LAWSUIT OVER COLORADO RIVER CUTS

The Arizona Department of Water Resources said on Friday that Arizona had joined Nevada’s lawsuit against the federal government over Colorado River water cuts. The legal action follows an August federal operating plan that could reduce supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada over the next two years, depending on river conditions. The plan places no mandatory reductions on the four Upper Basin states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. The seven states had missed several deadlines to agree how to share the river’s water.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell have fallen to historically low levels amid overuse and a changing climate. Arizona officials argue that the Upper Basin should face mandatory conservation requirements alongside the Lower Basin. Upper Basin states say they already use less water when river flows decline and have different legal obligations. Under a proposed sharing agreement, Arizona would take annual reductions of 760,000 acre-feet, about 27% of its full Colorado River allocation. Arizona lawmakers have set aside money for potential litigation, and the City of Phoenix sought legal counsel in August.

“We are drawing a line in the sand,” Arizona governor Katie Hobbs said in a Friday statement. Hobbs said the federal government had failed to hold the Upper Basin accountable for water deliveries she said it owed Arizona. Tom Buschatzke, director of Arizona’s water department, said joining Nevada’s case would protect Arizona’s legal rights while leaving room for an agreement with California and Nevada. An interior department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the litigation.