Feds ease Colorado River cutbacks after positive forecast, but more work remains

Federal officials are easing water restrictions in response to new Colorado River forecasts from the Bureau of Reclamation. An unusually snowy winter in the mountains helped replenish the beleaguered river and added water to the nation’s largest reservoirs. But the river’s users, which include seven Western states, 30 Native American tribes and Mexico, are still under pressure to reduce demand.

Overall water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell have been declining for more than two decades, and experts widely agree that one wet winter will not be enough to correct the river’s growing supply-demand imbalance. The snowy weather has, however, helped buy time for the negotiators who will decide how the river will be shared in the future. They are expected to agree on new guidelines for the river by 2026, when the current rules expire.

“We are still on the precipice of a lot of uncertainty,” said Kyle Roerink, director of the nonprofit Great Basin Water Network. “The precarious nature of our modern water cycle should give all water managers pause. We just have to think, how are we going to live in a world where there's going to be much less?”