{"id":447,"date":"2026-06-06T09:32:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447"},"modified":"2026-06-06T09:32:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:32:57","slug":"latest-colorado-river-proposal-is-disappointing-some-officials-say-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447","title":{"rendered":"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BOULDER \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>When a panel moderator at a Colorado River conference in Boulder asked Friday for any positive notes in the negotiations over the river\u2019s future, officials from Colorado, Nevada and Mexico paused \u2014 and then paused some more.<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado\u2019s K-9 cops like chew toys, scratches and keeping black bears alive<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know it might be like, you get invited to someone\u2019s home and you sit down, and dinner is not ready because there\u2019s an argument going on in the family,\u201d said Carlos de la Parra, founder and managing partner of the Luken Center for Strategies on Water and Environment in Tijuana.<\/p>\n

With no unified input from the seven Colorado River states, the federal government will decide what happens next \u2014 and already officials are citing concerns about a 10-year plan that requires renegotiating reservoir operations every two years.<\/p>\n

State and tribal officials have been at loggerheads since 2023 over how to manage the water supply for 40 million people once the current rules, established in 2007, expire this fall. As time runs out, officials are punting after shooting for a 20- or 30-year agreement. The 10-year proposed plan will allow operations at two key reservoirs, lakes Mead and Powell, to be adaptable, transparent and stable, said Scott Cameron, acting commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would love to have a 20-year deal, or a 30-year deal,\u201d Cameron said. \u201cBut frankly, we haven\u2019t even been able to get seven states to agree on what a two-year deal would look like, so we\u2019re using a 10-year framework.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a popular choice among some water officials at the University of Colorado\u2019s 2026 Conference on the Colorado River.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The proposed idea ties management of lakes Mead and Powell, which make up almost all of the basin\u2019s reservoir storage, more closely to real-time conditions, and that\u2019s a positive, said Commissioner Becky Mitchell, Colorado\u2019s top negotiator on Colorado River issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But \u201cconstantly negotiating every two years \u2014 that would be incredibly difficult,\u201d Mitchell said. And it could further entrench opponents in their legal positions or hold up other work to help the basin adapt, like funding new programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we fund and finance if we\u2019re constantly renegotiating?\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cHow do we create the certainty that 40 million people deserve?\u201d<\/p>\n

A 10-year proposal<\/h2>\n

The Bureau of Reclamation said the 10-year preliminary plan was its preferred option at a May meeting in Arizona. Since then, officials have shared sparse details, saying the final plan will be released in mid-summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rough plan comes with certain tenets, Cameron told the gathering of hundreds of water officials Thursday. In addition to tying reservoir releases more closely to real-time conditions, the federal officials talked about being conservative with water use in low-flow periods and then building in recovery periods when water conditions improve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf peace breaks out and we have a seven-state agreement on something \u2026 we\u2019re happy to take that agreement and have it supplant this 10-year framework,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The plan will be finalized in two reports, a final environmental impact statement and a record of decision. The record of decision, which is the final step, will come out before mid-August, when reservoir operations are typically finalized for the next year.<\/p>\n

Read more Has the water in Denver\u2019s Sloan\u2019s Lake killed fish?<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, states are still working out what operations need to look like for the next two years, he said. The federal government aims to free up funding for groups in the Colorado River Basin, including $100 million that could go to upstream states like Colorado to show how they can achieve large-scale water conservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, at this point we are interested in any multistate agreement that would provide anybody anywhere a little bit more certainty and pose a little bit less risk,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDisappointing\u201d and \u201ctroubling\u201d<\/h2>\n

The proposal, however, is an imperfect solution coming at the eleventh hour amid simmering frustrations from water watchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 10-year cycle is too short, said Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, which advocates for water resources for 15 Western Slope counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To mandate two-year cycles of renegotiation that happen to coincide with congressional and presidential elections is a \u201cterrible idea,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNegotiations on the river need to be depoliticized, not further politicized,\u201d he said. \u201cThe structure that has been discussed by the feds is disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no certainty or a clear path forward. Cities, farmers and ranchers plan their water use on multi-year cycles. They\u2019re planning years if not decades in advance, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re using public funds and a public market to achieve a public purpose, let\u2019s do this the right way,\u201d Mueller said.<\/p>\n

Lower Basin officials from downstream states \u2014 Arizona, California and Nevada \u2014\u00a0 shared their own concerns. The two-year renegotiations are not a good plan, John Entsminger, Nevada\u2019s Colorado River negotiator, said. Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, said the tribe is extremely concerned about the 10-year framework.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe limited details that we\u2019ve seen in the preliminary preferred alternative \u2026 are very troubling,\u201d Lewis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 10-year framework could impose massive additional cuts on the Lower Basin, including the state of Arizona and his tribal nation \u2014 without a strategy to offset the resulting damage, he said. The framework could also modify how water laws work in practice without going through the required planning processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to change the rules that govern this river, then we need to be honest about what\u2019s happening,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to follow the law. We need to follow the required process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Utah\u2019s richest man wants Vail Resorts to sell him the nation\u2019s largest ski area<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado River officials looking for a 20- to 30-year deal are punting with a short-term proposal as negotiations between states flounder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water"],"yoast_head":"\nLatest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colorado River officials looking for a 20- to 30-year deal are punting with a short-term proposal as negotiations between states flounder.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-06T09:32:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"headline\":\"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T09:32:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447\"},\"wordCount\":972,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447\",\"name\":\"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T09:32:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1626},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=447#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Relocation Report","og_description":"Colorado River officials looking for a 20- to 30-year deal are punting with a short-term proposal as negotiations between states flounder.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447","og_site_name":"Colorado Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-06T09:32:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482"},"headline":"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why.","datePublished":"2026-06-06T09:32:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447"},"wordCount":972,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp","articleSection":["Water"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447","url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447","name":"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why. - Colorado Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-06T09:32:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fc96032ab268d54883617d34d254870b.webp","width":2560,"height":1626},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=447#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Latest Colorado River proposal is disappointing, some officials say. Here\u2019s why."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Colorado Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}