Breakthrough Colorado River plan: The benefits and limits
After nearly a year of gridlocked negotiations on the future of the stressed Colorado River, Arizona, California, and Nevada reached a breakthrough last week, uniting behind a voluntary proposal to further curtail their water use.
Some observers call the proposal “historic.” But how significant is it? Since the news broke, others have described the Lower Basin agreement as overhyped. It’s still just a proposal, and only a short-term one for managing critically low reservoirs, which threaten hydropower and water supplies for millions of people.
