California dodges a bullet on Colorado River cuts

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Set us as preferred California and two other states have avoided the harshest water cutbacks the Trump administration could have imposed over the next two years to deal with the deepening crisis on the Colorado River.The Times has learned that federal officials have agreed with an offer made earlier this year by California, Arizona and Nevada to reduce what they take from the river by at least 3.2 million acre-feet between now and the end of 2028.Under the plan, California will cut its use of Colorado River water by about 12% through 2028, Arizona will take about 31% less and Nevada 28% less, according to two officials at state and local agencies who spoke anonymously since details of an announcement are still being finalized.In May, the three states proposed these cuts for the next two and a half years, and now the federal government is set to sign off on much of their proposal.

The Trump administration could have required cuts nearly twice as large.The Colorado River provides water for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland, from the Rocky Mountains to Southern California and northern Mexico.It has shrunk dramatically in the last 27 years, and research shows climate change is intensifying the extremely dry conditions.The Trump administration’s two-year blueprint aims to strike a compromise between two quarreling groups: the three downstream states of California, Arizona and Nevada, and the upstream states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico.They’ve been at an impasse in negotiations while the river’s reservoirs continue to decline.

Last week, the major reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell fell to their lowest combined levels on record.Near Las Vegas, Lake Mead is now 27% full.Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona border, is at just 23% of capacity.

If it drops an additional 33 feet, water won’t re...