A monthly members-only column by Alan Dulaney
Just before Christmas, about 1700 people met in Las Vegas at the annual meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association (CRWUA). Apparently, no one was feeling festive. Everyone was aware that after more than two years, the states that share the Colorado River could not achieve a consensus on shortage sharing rules past 2026. They were also aware that the November 11, 2025 deadline had been passed without any consequences (Read here).
Basically, the impasse is between the Upper Basin states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico and the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona, and California. Each state is stoutly and loudly defending its position. It is a question of cutting demand to match the curtailed supply.
John Entsminger, General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Nevada’s negotiator sat on a panel with other states’ negotiators (Read here). He put it bluntly:
“If you distill down what my six partners just said, I believe there’s three common things: Here’s all the great things my state has done. Here’s how hard/impossible it is to do any more. And here are all the reasons why other people should have to do more. As long as we keep polishing those arguments and repeating them to each other, we are going nowhere.”
Log in to view Members Only content.