Phoenix Braces for Cuts to Water Supply as Colorado River Fight Continues

Possible new restrictions on water use for the Colorado River could have major implications across seven states, but the fast-growing suburbs of Phoenix are at a special disadvantage.Later this year, the federal government's plan to break a deadlock between seven states that draw water from the Colorado River will update the century-old laws that govern water use in the Southwest. Those laws require sort of a first-come, first-served priority for the states, tribes, and Mexican municipalities with rights to the river. Arizona's stake is junior to the rights of others like Colorado and Nevada.Arizona leaders sharply criticized the plans, which reportedly could entail as much as 20% reduction in use for that state and the other parts of the "lower basin," which use water from the drying-up reservoirs in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. "Phoenix has spent decades planning for a moment like this, and is prepared to use less Colorado River water, but it is wrong to lay a disproportionate share of the burden on Arizona," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said. "Upper basin" states, which rely primarily on the Colorado River's headwaters and tributaries, might not face such a strong restriction.But in...