Hurry Up, Feds Tell States Mulling Colorado River Drought Plan

Governors in states that cradle the Colorado River basin have about two weeks to tell the U.S. Department of the Interior how to manage their water after missing a deadline to reach a seven-state drought agreement.

A comment period opens from March 4-19, escalating the threat that the federal government will have intervene to direct states’ use of the Colorado River. That is the source of drinking water for more than 40 million people in cities including Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Denver.

That’s something U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman has warned about for months, after Arizona and ...