Water Shortages Run Risk of Dividing States Using Colorado River

Diminishing water supplies in the Colorado River Basin have led the basin’s seven states to adopt a “we’re all in this together” approach as they deal with climate change, intense drought, and increasing growth.

But water officials wonder whether states will now act in their own self-interest, worsening tensions and sparking conflicts between the lower and upper basin.

Fueling those concerns are the water reductions announced Aug. 16 by the Bureau of Reclamation, and the likelihood of deeper cuts in the near future for a basin that supplies water to about 40 million people.

“There’s always been a ...