Colorado river basin just 50 feet from collapse as seven states fail to reach water-saving deal

The Colorado River system that provides water to 40 million Americans across seven states is teetering on the edge of catastrophic failure, with water levels now just 50 feet away from triggering a complete system collapse. Despite the urgent crisis, negotiations between Colorado River Basin states ended this week in Las Vegas without any agreement on mandatory water cuts.

At their annual conference held at Caesars Palace, representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming presented their individual conservation efforts but failed to forge a unified strategy for reducing water consumption. The impasse comes as Lake Mead and Lake Powell—the two massive reservoirs that anchor the Colorado River system—hover near record-low water levels that threaten to shut down hydroelectric power generation and water delivery to millions of residents.

The stakes could not be higher for a river system that serves major metropolitan areas from Denver to Los Angeles and irrigates farmland producing food for much of the nation. Scientists warn that without immediate and dramatic reductions in water usage, the entire Colorado River Basin could face “dead pool” status, where water levels drop so low that dams cannot release water downstream.

The failure to reach consensus highlights the complex web of competing interests among states, cities, farmers, and tribal nations who all depend on the over-allocated river. As climate change continues to reduce snowpack in the Rocky Mountains—the river’s primary water source—the window for preventing system collapse continues to narrow rapidly.