A monthly members-only column by Alan Dulaney
It always comes back to the Colorado River.
The clock is inexorably counting down to 2026, when a new agreement between the seven Basin states, plus Mexico, must be finalized such that operational plans can be drafted. Yet it appears to many observers that positions have hardened over the last several months, even as the negotiators commend the concepts of cooperation and compromise. Many have noted that the United States has not taken a firm position, nor acted as dom9inant participants in the talks. In the 2007 negotiations, the United States pursued fear of Federal action as an incentive, and it worked. But this time, the United States is not cracking the whip.
That may be about to change. On June 18, 2025, Ted Cooke was nominated to be the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation (more info here). Confirmation is assured. Ted Cooke was the General Manager of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, which operates the Central Arizona Project canal, from 2015 to 2022. He thoroughly understands the Colorado River watershed, its importance to the West, the challenges to the system presented by climate change, and the hardline positions taken by the seven Basin states in the current negotiations for a new shortage-sharing agreement. He is analytical and fair, and knows well the numbers, both hydrological and financial. No one in Arizona thinks he will favor Arizona over the other states, or the Lower Basin over the Upper Basin.
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