Colorado River

Record-low snowpack across the Upper Colorado River Basin will likely translate to poor conditions for spring runoff, and could mean emergency action to supplement low water levels in Lake Powell.

Estevan López, New Mexico's water negotiator, said talks resumed March 2, and the upper and lower basin states are using a short-term pitch from Nevada as a starting point.

The sluggish Colorado River negotiations have entered a new phase: Long and fiery letter writing.

Negotiators are focusing on a five-year agreement for sharing water from the shrinking river. Experts say that would provide some much-needed flexibility.

Arizona and the six other states that use the Colorado River do not have a new plan to share the shrinking water supply.

The Fetcher ranch in northwest Colorado is on the frontlines this year of record-low snowpack across the West. It's adding a sense of urgency among seven states to finalize a plan for how to conserve the dwindling Colorado River.

A lack of snow, compounded by warm temperatures, has plagued Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. That will impact how much water is available come spring runoff.

Pressure to reach a deal is building.Forecasts for the water supply from the Colorado River continue to grow worse as snowpack lags far behind normal across the West. And negotiators from the basins have said there are “sticking points” that remain in the negotiations in recent weeks that even marathon talks have failed to resolve.

On the eve of the high-stakes summit, negotiators from both the upper and lower river basins are not sounding confident they can reach an agreement with less than three weeks to go before a Feb. 14 deadline.

Lawmakers are discussing the pilot program as western states remain at an impasse about the future of the Colorado River.