By Andrew Hay
May 15, 2026 12:35 PM EDT

Summary

• Federal plan could cut Arizona, California, Nevada water use by up to 40%
• Proposed cuts nearly double previous state offer, aim to stabilize depleted reservoirs

May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has proposed a new water-sharing ​plan for the drought-stricken Colorado River that could cut up to 40% of current ‌supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada, according to a senior Arizona official.

With a 20-year-old plan expiring this year, and talks between seven states that share the river at an impasse, the federal government late last week intervened with a strategy to ​deal with severe water shortages, according to Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water ​Resources.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposed a 10-year plan in which Arizona, California and ⁠Nevada would potentially cut water use by up to 3 million acre-feet per year to maintain water ​levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river's severely depleted reservoirs, Buschatzke told a meeting of Arizona ​water stakeholders on Wednesday. Three million acre-feet of water is enough to supply 6 million to 9 million households for one year, more than the number of homes in Arizona and Nevada.

NEARLY TWICE THE CUTS AS BEFORE
The maximum possible federal cuts, ​which would be reviewed every two years based on water levels, are nearly twice as large as ​a May 1 offer, by those three lower-basin states to reduce their water use by 1.6 million acre-feet per year.

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