Officials Agree on Drought Plan
Water officials from the states that share the Colorado River reached agreement Tuesday on a wide-ranging drought management plan that they will propose to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton this week.
After two days of discussions in Las Vegas, water officials from seven states said they put the finishing touches on proposals that would allow them flexibility in determining how much water is released from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, the system’s two major reservoirs.
It would force California, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to review plans in times of extreme shortages.
The proposal also encourages investment in technologies and water exploration that could increase the amount of water in the system.
And it urges the federal government to pressure Mexico in times of drought to take less water than a treaty allows.
A proposal to manage the river was requested by Norton, who has threatened to impose a drought management plan by the end of 2007 -- with or without the seven states’ recommendations. Many involved feared a court battle.
“I think we’re another step closer to avoiding [lawsuits]. But this is a slow and difficult process, because there’s so many moving parts, so many political expectations on all of us,” said Scott Balcomb, an attorney representing Colorado in the talks.
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