US says 2 states must finish Colorado River drought plan
Source: Associated Press
US says 2 states must finish Colorado River drought plan
By FELICIA FONSECA
February 1, 2019
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Two states in the U.S. West have work to do on a plan to combat the shrinking supply of Colorado River water that 40 million people depend on but that’s threatened by a prolonged drought, a federal official said Friday.
Complex agreements among water users in California and Arizona haven’t been signed, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said. She declared that the states missed her Thursday deadline to complete the work, which could allow the federal government to step in and decide the rules.
But Burman said she prefers the seven states that rely on the river to reach a consensus on protecting the water that serves 5.5 million acres of farmland. She said she would halt a process to ask those governors to explain what should happen next if California and Arizona finish all the components of a drought plan by March 4.
“We are close, and I applaud those who have worked to get us close, but only done will protect this basin,” she told reporters Friday. “Time to get the job done.”
The bureau is part of the Interior Department, which has broad authority to manage water supplies in the Colorado River’s lower basin that includes Arizona, California and Nevada.
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