05/12/2026
Water researcher, Doug Kenney of the GWC at University of Colorado Law School, said while this proposal is designed only as a "short-term bridge," it's a comprehensive package containing many items that Upper Basin states are likely to view as "just a repackaging of ideas that are already contested."
In particular, he cites proposals that would continue releases annually from Upper Basin reservoirs into Powell, and that would eventually raise releases from Powell to Mead from this year's low level of 6 million acre-feet a year back to 7 million as they had been in the past.
He also cited the Lower Basin's effort to have federal water conservation funds diverted into the Lower Basin. And he cited the proposal's request for the Upper Basin states to offer "verifiable water contributions of their own."
"Whether or not these are objectively good ideas, it seems pretty clear that they are not points of agreement around which a deal — even a short-term deal — is likely to quickly coalesce," Kenney said.
Even if that happens, it is a bridge to a long-term fix for the river only if the seven states use the next few years to adopt a comprehensive solution, he said.
The river's current operating rules, which expire Sept. 30 after 20 years, were supposed to serve as a similar bridge, "but to no avail."
"Overall, I applaud the effort of the Lower Basin to move the ball forward, but I have a hard time believing that this will be the framework that finally leads to a 7-state truce and a stabilized system," Kenney said.
A proposal from Arizona, California and Nevada to shave their take from the Colorado River for the next 30 months is drawing favorable reactions from a large majority of outside
