Daniel Herrera Carbajal
ICT
PHOENIX, Arizona – The Department of the Interior Friday announced future cuts to Colorado River water deliveries to three lower river basin states, adopting a plan already slammed by two Southwest tribes.
When the plan was released in draft form last month, the tribes argued they were not sufficiently party to the decision making process and that the proposed use plan does not reflect their rights.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes “holds water rights to over 23 percent of Arizona’s entire allocation of Colorado River water,” the tribes’ Attorney General Rebecca Loudbear wrote to the Bureau of Reclamation earlier this month when the preliminary water cut plans were released. “Our limited role in this process does not reflect the nature and extent of our water rights.”
The Colorado River Indian Tribes is one of the largest shareholders of Colorado River water in Arizona and has some of the most legally untouchable water rights pertaining to the river.
The Gila River Indian Community also pushed back on the water sharing plans and “will stand ready” to challenge the plan if it does not meet their needs.
“If the final version of the Operating Guidelines for 2027-2028 (released Friday) does not meet our reasonable expectations of our trustee, we will stand ready to challenge … the operating guidelines in every forum available to protect our community’s interests in this difficult time,” Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis said in a statement.
Gila River receives its share of water through the Central Arizona Project, which holds junior priority rights. This means the tribe would be one of the first entities to have their share of Colorado river water reduced depending on the amount of water available in the river.
“This (July draft) document proposes actions that deviate substantially from the requirements of the law of the river, and on its face fails to adequately address the federal government’s trust responsibilities to tribes in the basin,” Lewis said in a statement.
California, Arizona and Nevada would take less water from the Colorado River under the plan released Friday to stave off a crisis in the river. Reclamation first announced the plan on July 31, allowing deeper cuts in drier times. Arizona and Nevada have faced cuts before, but this proposal could lead to more significant reductions, impacting agriculture, cities and tribes.
The plan released Friday follows years of deadlocked negotiations among states.
The Lower Basin states now face collective cuts of 1.25 million acre-feet annually in each of the next two years, according to an announcement from Interior.
For the past 26 years, the Colorado River Basin has been experiencing an unprecedented multidecadal drought, resulting in historically low runoff and reservoir levels, Interior said. Conditions got worse during 2026, including the lowest river watershed snowpack on record during last winter. And last week, Lake Mead reached a record-low elevation.
The Colorado River provides water for more than 40 million people and generates hydropower for seven states. It serves as a resource for 30 tribes and two Mexican states, sustaining 5.5 million acres of farmland and agricultural communities throughout the West, while also supporting critical ecosystems and protecting endangered species.
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