Arizona joins lawsuit over Colorado River water cuts – ABC15 Arizona

Arizona joins lawsuit over Colorado River water cuts  ABC15 Arizona

Arizona is taking its fight over the future of the Colorado River to court. The Arizona Department of Water Resources announced on Friday that they are joining Nevada's lawsuit against the Federal Government over the new Colorado River cuts.The legal action comes after years of failed negotiations among seven Western states over how to divide the Colorado River's dwindling water supply.In August, the federal government finalized a new operating plan for the river that requires Arizona, California and Nevada to reduce their water use, while imposing no mandatory reductions on the four Upper Basin states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.See previous coverage of Arizona's river battle in the video

player aboveIf the states finalize their proposed sharing agreement, Arizona would absorb 760,000 acre-feet of those annual reductions, representing roughly 27% of its full Colorado River allocation.Arizona officials have argued that the Upper Basin should be required to contribute to mandatory conservation efforts, rather than leaving the Lower Basin to absorb the reductions.The Upper Basin states maintain that they already use less water when river flows decline and that their legal obligations differ from those of downstream states.Arizona has been preparing for a court battleThe possibility of litigation is not new.Arizona lawmakers previously set aside millions of dollars for potential legal action, while the Arizona Department of Water Resources retained