For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Though the cuts will not result in any immediate new restrictions \u2014 like banning lawn watering or car washing \u2014 they signal that unpopular decisions about how to reduce consumption are on the horizon, including whether to prioritize growing cities or agricultural areas. Mexico will also face cuts.<\/p>\n
But those reductions represent just a fraction of the potential pain to come for the 40 million Americans in seven states that rely on the river. Because the states failed to meet a federal deadline to figure out how to cut their water use by at least 15%, they could see even deeper cuts that the government has said are needed to prevent reservoirs from falling so low they cannot be pumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe states collectively have not identified and adopted specific actions of sufficient magnitude that would stabilize the system,\u201d Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton said.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n For years, cities and farms have diverted more water from the river than flows through it, depleting its reservoirs and raising questions about how it will be divided as water becomes more scarce.https:\/\/t.co\/5ULwcyIsVK<\/a><\/p>\n — Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) August 17, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n