Arizona Water

Tribal leaders testified before a Senate committee in support of a landmark agreement that would provide Colorado River water to the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.

Possible scenarios could include significant water reductions in Lower Basin states like Arizona or new incentives for states to conserve water.

Four days of negotiations in a Salt Lake City conference room earlier this month did not appear to have sparked a breakthrough.

The proposals range from "no action" to a scenario that might result in water cuts to the lower-basin states, including Arizona. One option would incentivize states and water users to proactively conserve the river.

Arizona will provide billions in taxpayer money to help fund several new initiatives aimed at providing alternate drinking water sources for the state.

New data from the Bureau of Reclamation puts the river and its reservoirs in formal shortage conditions. Policymakers are stuck on ways to fix that in the years to come.

The Biden Administration's Interior Department released proposals for managing the Colorado River in an apparent attempt to nudge the states toward agreement.

Water managers across the West say they do not expect a new Trump administration will alter post-2026 Colorado River talks.

Leaks in the pipeline that brings water from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim are a known problem. However, the project to overhaul the Transcanyon Waterline won’t be finished until 2027.

Navajo officials are celebrating signing legislation outlining a proposed water rights settlement that will ensure supply from the Colorado River for three Native American tribes and more security for drought-stricken Arizona.