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Some worry the West’s frigid winter will delay action on the Colorado River
The US federal government has said that California, Arizona and other states should not have to cut 25% of their water usage from the Colorado River because the crisis has been solved. “We can probably create…protect levels with cuts not as big as what she described,” Arizona’s top water official Tom Buschatzke said. The Gila…
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The process to save the Colorado River has begun
The US federal and state governments must find a way to keep as much water as possible in the Colorado River states, officials said. Under a plan, the federal government would tell the states how much water they must cut in order to save the river system. The six-state proposal is “a very positive outcome”,…
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There is a storm in the forecast and it is predicted that it will cause flooding and mudslides
Six lower basin states, including Arizona and Nevada, released a model for how much Colorado River water they could potentially cut to stave off a collapse of the US’ largest reservoirs. If California did not compromise, they would be required to follow the river’s current strict priority system, Arizona’s top water official said.
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A large Saudi Arabian dairy farm is in Arizona.
California’s Imperial Irrigation District, the state’s largest water supply district, has opposed US’ six-state proposal to save Colorado River’s water by voluntary cuts. Imperial Irrigation uses the same amount of water as Arizona and Nevada. California was proposing following ‘law of the river’, which gives farmers in major agricultural districts first dibs on water because…
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The stage is being set for a high stakes legal battle over Colorado River water.
The US Department of Interior announced it is launching an “expedited” process to potentially change water-flow operations on the drought-stricken Colorado River. This comes after water managers from seven states in the river basin failed to meet a federal deadline to make dramatic reductions. Failure to do someans either of these lakes could reach “dead…
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A Saudi Arabian dairy giant polluted the water in Arizona.
A Saudi Arabian-owned dairy firm, Al Dahra Farms, claims to own about 3,500 acres in agriculture-heavy Southern California, where it uses Colorado River water to irrigate crops, according to public land records. It also owns about 2,000 acres in Arizona, which is grappling with a drought. Residents and local officials in Arizona say lax groundwater…