Colorado River basin states make historic agreement to prevent water crisis.
The seven states that depend on the Colorado River have agreed to a consensus-based plan submitted by the three Lower Basin states, committing to collective conservation of at least 3 million acre-feet of system water by the end of 2026. Of that total, 1.5 million acre-feet at minimum would be conserved by the end of next year. The Colorado River serves about 40 million people throughout the West and is divided into a Lower and Upper basin. The newly proposed consensus-based action will meet the goals presented in the federal SEIS document, according to the agreement.