Biden administration works to save Colorado River, strike agreement before Trump takes over

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Biden administration is attempting to save the Colorado River, the west's largest single water source.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, Biden is racing to secure an agreement among seven Western states on how to allocate the Colorado River's water to safeguard the river basin.

Since the Biden-Harris administration took office, the Department of the Interior has led critical discussions on how to bring the Colorado River back from the brink of a crisis in the face of a 24-year drought.

“The river is one of our nation’s most invaluable natural resources – providing clean water, hydropower and habitat for more than 40 million people, 30 Tribal Nations, and a wide diversity of species,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “Those efforts helped stabilize the Colorado River for the short-term – but now, we owe it to future generations to find long-term solutions that ensure the river’s continued stability.” 

But now the administration is attempting to getting all states and stakeholders to agree in just two months on how much water they could be entitled to for decades – a goal that multiple sources tell CNN is a long shot.

The fight over water rights has simmered for years between the seven states that surround the river. Currently, the states are divided into two factions – the upper-basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming and the lower-basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada – which do not agree on who should bear the brunt of future water cuts if reservoir levels drop.

Meanwhile, rising temperatures have continued to drain water from the river system, with researchers at UCLA saying that over 10 trillion gallons of water have been sucked from the basin between 2000 and 2021.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration proposed five alternatives for basin use post-2026 that could protect water levels – a move likely made to push the states toward making a deal sooner rather than later, sources tell CNN. These options will be reviewed by federal officials while state negotiations play out.

The Department of the Interior said it is now working to develop future operating guidelines and strategies to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River. This new operating plan must be in place by August 2026, a few months before the current agreement expires, the department said.