Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will be subject to substantial cuts from their Colorado River allocations for the third year in a row, the Bureau of Reclamation announced Friday.
The agency made these determinations in its August 2025 24-month study, which provides an outlook on hydrological conditions and projected operations for the basin’s two biggest reservoirs: Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
Lake Mead, according to the study, will remain in what’s called a “Level 1 Shortage Condition” — a classification that necessitates water reductions as delineated in multiple domestic and binational agreements.
Specifically, Arizona will need to give up about 18 percent of its annual apportionment, while Nevada will need to contribute 7 percent and Mexico 5 percent, the study concluded.
The Bureau of Reclamation made this announcement as the seven Colorado River basin states continue to engage in intense negotiations over an update to the river’s long-term guidelines, which are set to expire at the end of 2026.
As federal environmental review deadlines loom near, key differences have persisted among the Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah, and the Lower Basin parties of Arizona, Nevada and California.
While the Lower Basin has favored shared cuts across the watershed, the Upper Basin has supported a plan that reflects the dynamic hydrological conditions of a region reliant upon mountain snowpack.
“The urgency for the seven Colorado River Basin states to reach a consensus agreement has never been clearer,” Scott Cameron, acting assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of the Interior, said in a Friday statement.
“We cannot afford to delay,” he added.
At an Upper Basin meeting in June, Cameron urged the parties to come to a seven-state consensus agreement, noting the federal government would step in as necessary. He called upon the states to submit details of a preliminary agreement by mid-November and the final text by mid-February.
At the time, representatives from both basins confirmed they were evaluating a new plan in which water releases would be derived from the average “natural flow” of the three preceding years.
“The health of the Colorado River system and the livelihoods that depend on it are relying on our ability to collaborate effectively,” Cameron said Friday.
He called for the region’s stakeholders to “craft forward-thinking solutions that prioritize conservation, efficiency, and resilience.”
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