Song playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod’s Talking Politics, every Monday.Go to heartlandpod.com for information on all our political podcasts, and a link to support our work on Patreon. Sign up as an Official PODhead for just $5 per month to access all our premium podcast segments and political writing. To join the conversation on Twitter, find us at THE Heartland POD. Alright! Let’s get into it: NEVADA CURRENT: Water managers across drought-stricken West agree on one thing: ‘This is going to be painful’BY JENIFFER SOLIS - MONDAY DECEMBER 19, 2022 5:25 AMWater authorities in the Western U.S. don’t have a crystal ball, but rapidly receding reservoirs uncovering sunken boats and other debris lost in their depths decades ago give a clear view of the hard choices ahead.If western states do not agree on a plan to safeguard the Colorado River — the source of the region’s vitality — there won’t be enough water for anyone.Water managers, researchers, agricultural producers and others from across the drought-stricken river basin met in Las Vegas last week for the Colorado River Water Users Association annual convention to face hard truths about the state of the river and historically-low levels of its biggest reservoirs.Two decades of drought and poor planning have caused the river’s biggest reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — to drop to their lowest collective volume since they were filled.  Rebecca Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board said “Time is not on our side. Hydrology is not on our side. That’s the frightening reality Every day that passes this problem gets harder and harder to solve.”The water could drop below what’s needed to generate power as soon as next year, according to water experts. If nothing is done  there is a real possibility water levels in both reservoirs will drop so low in the next two years that water will no longer flow downstream to the 40 million people in the West who rely on the Colorado River.To put it in perspective, this winter both reservoirs were about a quarter full - 25%. In December 1999, Lake Powell was at 88% capacity, and Lake Mead was at 96% capacity.  In 2021, Lower basin states faced their first-ever federally declared water shortage, which directs how much water states can draw from the Colorado River. Deeper cuts were declared this year.Ted Cooke, the general manager for the Central Arizona Project.In June, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton issued an ultimatum to states: Develop a plan to save 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water by next year — roughly one-fifth of their currently allocations—or the federal government will step in.During a panel discussion at last week’s convention in Las Vegas, representatives for the seven western states who rely on the Colorado River said reaching a compromise will be their collective priority for the next six months.They agree that the longer it takes to stabilize the river and conserve the water needed to keep the river functional, the more likely reservoir levels will continue to plummet, leaving states with fewer and fewer options.Just last week, all of Southern California was declared to be in a drought emergency by the Metropolitan Water District, the main water supplier for Los Angeles county.Officials for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation warned that aridification, the long-term shift to a drier climate, means even less snow runoff is making it to the river each year.Currently, there is nearly $4 billion set aside for the Colorado River that would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to use some funds to pay users to voluntarily forgo water use.“We have to accept that we can not cling to our entitlements or allocations. If they are not there none of it matters,” Mitchell continued. “Folks in the room have to be willing to let us make hard decisions, because this is going to be painful.” Beck