Colorado River states announce breakthrough water sharing deal

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/22/ [login to see] /colorado-river-states-announce-breakthrough-water-sharing-deal
The White House has announced a key deal with Arizona, California and Nevada to conserve large amounts of water from the drought-afflicted Colorado River.

The breakthrough agreement aims to keep the river, which has been shrinking at an alarming rate due to climate change and overuse, from falling to a level that could endanger the water and power supply for major cities in the West and vast stretches of hugely productive farmland.

Water managers in Arizona, California and Nevada have agreed on a plan to cut their water use by well over a third of the entire traditional flow of the Colorado River through the seven states that rely on it. The federal government will pay some $1.2 billion dollars to cities, irrigation districts and Native American tribes if they temporarily use less water.

The deal, which only runs through the end of 2026, amounts to the largest reductions of water use in modern times and are very likely to require significant water restrictions for farms and residents across the Southwest.