The clock is ticking on the shrinking Colorado River as Western states miss a key deadline

"The Trump administration gave the states' negotiators a Nov. 11 deadline to come up with initial terms of a plan to prevent the river's giant reservoirs from declining to dangerously low levels. Negotiators for the states and the federal Interior Department said in a joint statement that they "recognize the serious and ongoing challenges facing the Colorado River," and that "prolonged drought and low reservoir conditions have placed extraordinary pressure on this critical water resource.""

"The Colorado River provides water to about 35 million people in cities from Denver to San Diego, 30 Native tribes and farming communities from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. It has long been overused, with so much water taken out that for decades the river has seldom met the sea, transforming once-vast wetlands in Mexico into stretches of dry sand."

Seven Western states are negotiating how to share diminishing Colorado River waters and report progress without providing specifics. A federal Nov. 11 deadline for initial terms of a plan to prevent reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels was missed. Negotiators and the federal Interior Department recognized serious and ongoing challenges and said prolonged drought and low reservoir conditions have placed extraordinary pressure on the river. Talks occurred at an undisclosed location and additional negotiations are planned. The Colorado River supplies about 35 million people, 30 Native tribes and numerous farming communities and has been overused, shrinking flow roughly 20% over 25 years and reducing reservoirs dramatically.

Read at Los Angeles Times