Colorado River Flow Has Dropped One-Third Since 2020

The Colorado River's flow has averaged about one-third less than the 20th-century average since 2020. The river supplies nearly one-fourth of Southern California's municipal water and is the sole source for the Imperial Valley's farms.

Colorado described the parched landscape as "terrifying." Snowpack that normally feeds the river is minimal, and streams that once carried steady water are now dry. The 242-mile Colorado River Aqueduct carries water across the desert to urban taps. A 13-mile tunnel section runs through Mt. San Jacinto near Cabazon.

Nevada proposed a two-year water-saving plan. Officials in the Trump administration are considering mandatory cuts of up to 40 percent of the three states' combined allotments. The four upstream states—Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico—have not agreed on the downstream proposal.

Any federal plan could face legal challenges from states that reject the terms. Three-fourths of diverted Colorado River water goes to agriculture, with nearly half used for alfalfa and other cattle feed. Some farmers have already accepted federal payments to idle fields part of the year.