Sacramento, Calif. (AP) — Competing priorities, massive demands, and a federal pullback from threatened deadlines led to a deal on how to drastically reduce water use from people who dried up last summer. was blocked. Colorado Riverthe email retrieved by the Associated Press is displayed.

The document spans the period from June to August given to states by the U.S. Reclamation Service to reach agreement on shutting down a system that supplies water to 40 million people a year, or force the federal government to do so. They primarily involve communications between water authorities in Arizona and California, the major users of the river’s lower reaches.

Recycling hoped to determine how to save 2 to 4 million acre-feet (about one-third) of water for seven U.S. states that depend on rivers. Expected reductionEmails obtained through public records requests express a desire to reach consensus, but disagreements persist over how much each state can or should give.

As the deadline approaches without meaningful progress, one water manager warned:

In an interview about the early negotiations, Chris Harris, executive director of the California Colorado River Commission, said, “The challenges we faced this summer were significant. They were. ‘Who was responsible?’ I don’t know. Really not. There were so many different interpretations of what was being asked and what we were trying to do.”

Scientists say the massive drought that hit the southwestern United States is the worst in 1,200 years. Serious Tension on the Colorado River as major reservoirs drop to historically low levels. If the state does not start draining water from rivers, water levels in major reservoirs will be so low that hydroelectric power generation will not be possible and water will be supplied to farms that grow crops for other parts of the country and cities such as Los Angeles. supply may not be possible at all. Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Last summer, the river’s future looked so uncertain that some water managers felt that attempts to reach a voluntary agreement were futile.Only mandatory cuts could stave off the crisis. can.

“We don’t have time, we don’t have the time, we can’t make a spontaneous plan,” Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, told Rehabilitation officials in an email on July 18.

As 2023 begins, new incentives will make states more likely to give up water. The federal government is contributing her $4 billion to drought relief, and users of the Colorado River have submitted proposals to get some of that money through actions such as leaving fields unplowed. .some cities are torn apart thirsty decorative grassWhen tribe When major water authority voluntarily or by order left water in important reservoirs.

Recycling also agreed to spend $250 million in risk mitigation State water users have agreed to reduce their use in a dried-up California lake bed. 400,000 acre feet in a proposal published in October.

The interior department is still evaluating some proposals. $4 billion It’s hard to say how much it will save, Deputy Commissioner Tommy Boudreau said in an interview.

The state is about to reach another epic deal with Tuesday’s deadline so that reuse can be factored into larger plans to change operations at the Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam. electricity producer on the Colorado River. Failure to do so could open up the possibility of federal government imposition of cuts, which could invite lawsuits.

Who would absorb the additional water outages was moot, with allegations of undue benefits from the drought, failure to fulfill promises, too many negotiators in the room, and a shaky hand from the federal government.

California It says it’s a partner willing to make sacrifices, but other states see it ranked near the top clinging to water-first systems. Arizona and Nevada have long felt unfairly bearing the brunt of cuts because of their long-developed water rights systems.

In testifying to Congress on June 14, reclamation commissioner Camille Touton’s call for a major water cutoff was a public bomb of sorts. A week ago, in a heads-up from the federal government, low-lying basin states collectively discussed logging up to 2 million acre-feet with Mexico during a conference in Salt Lake City, according to emails and interviews. showed.

But as weeks went by and proposals were exchanged, emails indicated that downstream states had barely reached half that amount and commitments were nowhere near solid. what was not clear Mexico also occupies part of the rivermay contribute.

In a series of exchanges through July, Arizona and California each proposed multiple ways to achieve the cuts. existing agreement Tied to the water level of Lake Mead, and taking into account water lost through evaporation or inefficient infrastructure, it fiercely protected its priority systems, but it was clear that the negotiators were tired.

States shared contempt Suggestions from farmers Near Yuma and in Southern California, $1,500 per acre-foot of water saved. Former Central Arizona project general manager Ted Cooke suggested the farmer work for a third of his price.

In late July, California’s Harris emailed the Bureau of Reclamation a proposal outlining a one-million-acre-foot logging range scenario, saying it was essential that negotiators be able to “declare some degree of victory.” .

“Otherwise, we’re at a dead end and I truly believe we’re all headed for a very dark place.”

But ultimately, Arizona and Nevada never felt that California was willing to give enough.

“It was futile, it wasn’t enough. I didn’t believe California was going to do what they did,” Cook said in an interview.

By then, the reclamation had been informally told to the state, but not publicly acknowledged, but had been withdrawn from the planned deadline of mid-August, an official involved in the negotiations said. In an interview, he said the deadline was in no way intended to create an ultimatum between reaching an agreement and making forced layoffs.

But when it became clear that the federal government would not act unilaterally, state officials said they would be forced out of the negotiations because water users with higher priority water rights were no longer at risk of severe cuts. said it created a “chilling effect” that took away the urgency.

“Without that hammer, the tone of the negotiations would have been different,” he said.

Even today, the Department of the Interior’s priority remains to ensure that the Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam have enough water to sustain hydropower, and the department will do whatever it takes to ensure that, Beaudreau said. said Mr.

The Upper Basin states of New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado have historically not fully used up their supplies, but expect the Lower Basin to do a lot of the work.

Recycling is now focused on considering the latest comments from states on how to save rivers. Nevada wants to include water lost through evaporation and transport in its water allocation, which could mean the largest amount of reduction for California.

But how to determine what level of cuts are fair and legal remains controversial. While California’s goal remains to defend its position, other states and tribes are concerned about the use of old water resources, including whether users have access to other water sources and the impact of reductions on disadvantaged communities and food security. I would like you to consider more than just rights.

pioneering goal We will prepare a draft of the proposed reductions by early March, and then make a final decision by mid-August.

Fonseca reported from Flagstaff, Arizona. Follow her on her Twitter. @Fonseca APContributed by St. Louis AP writer Michael Phyllis.