The seven Colorado River Basin states on Tuesday apparently overcame a final intramural feud and will send a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton this week indicating that they have reached a basic agreement on how the river will be managed under drought conditions.
Some details remain to be worked out. But upper basin states Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, and California, Arizona and Nevada in the lower basin agreed to forward a document to Norton that will allow the Bureau of Reclamation to proceed with an ongoing environmental study of how to deal with future water shortages on the river.
Norton had given the basin states a Wednesday deadline to have their proposal included in the study.
The seven basin states have been meeting regularly since December 2004 to try to reach an agreement. The absence of a deal, all sides agree, would likely lead to expensive and prolonged litigation that could endanger future water projects.
“The most important part is the states all recognize the finite amount of water in the Colorado River basin, particularly the lower basin,” said Rod Kuharich, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. “I’m cautiously optimistic that it will protect the water users in Colorado.”
Denver Post staff writer David Olinger contributed to this report.
