Explainer: What does the latest Colorado River proposal mean for California, Arizona, Nevada?
May 23, 2023 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Facing the future with a dwindling Colorado River supply and intense pressure from the federal government, Arizona, California and Nevada have offered a plan to cut their water use significantly.
Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts
May 23, 2023 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona, Nevada and California said Monday they’re willing to cut back on their use of the dwindling Colorado River in exchange for money from the federal government -- and to avoid forced cuts as drought threatens the key water supply for the U.S.
What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?
April 14, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration floated two ideas this week to reduce water usage from the dwindling Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people.
The 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river is a lifeline for seven U.S.
Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water
April 7, 2023 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — A Native American tribe in Arizona reached a deal Thursday with the U.S. government not to use some of its Colorado River water rights in return for $150 million and funding for a pipeline project.
Drought-stricken Nevada enacts ban on ‘non-functional’ grass
June 7, 2021 GMTCARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — In Sin City, one thing that will soon become unforgivable is useless grass.
A new Nevada law will outlaw about 31% of the grass in the Las Vegas area in an effort to conserve water amid a drought that's drying up the region's primary water source: the Colorado River.
Feds spend $2.4 million on cloud seeding for Colorado River
March 17, 2023 GMTDENVER (AP) — The Southern Nevada Water Authority on Thursday voted to accept a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fund cloud seeding in other Western states whose rivers feed the parched desert region.
Feds want justices to end Navajo fight for Colo. River water
March 17, 2023 GMTStates that rely on water from the over-tapped Colorado River want the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lawsuit from the Navajo Nation that could upend how water is shared in the Western U.S.
Las Vegas water agency seeks power to limit residential use
March 14, 2023 GMTCARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada lawmakers are considering a remarkable shift in allowing the water agency that manages the Colorado River supply for Las Vegas to limit single-family residential use in the desert city and surrounding county.
In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save water
March 3, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Brundy, an alfalfa grower in California's Imperial Valley, thinks farmers reliant on the shrinking Colorado River can do more to save water and use it more efficiently.
California releases its own plan for Colorado River cuts
February 1, 2023 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California released a plan Tuesday detailing how Western states reliant on the Colorado River should save more water. It came a day after the six other states in the river basin made a competing proposal.
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal
January 31, 2023 GMTFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed.
AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks
January 29, 2023 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government's retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.
Body recovered from Arizona side of Colorado River now ID’d
January 19, 2023 GMTBULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. (AP) — The body of a woman recovered from the Arizona side of the Colorado River has been identified, Bullhead City police said Thursday.
Police said the body of 54-year-old Deana Harris of Fort Mohave was found Tuesday morning floating in the lagoon at the Palo Verde Meadows Estates.
Biden signs water bills benefiting 3 tribes in Arizona
January 6, 2023 GMTFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A Native American tribe that has one of the largest and most secure rights to Colorado River water now has approval to lease some of it in Arizona, a state that’s been hardest hit by cuts to its water supply and is on a perpetual search for more.
Water bills for tribes in Arizona to head to President Biden
December 23, 2022 GMTFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Three bills that would improve access to water for some tribes in Arizona amid an unrelenting drought are now poised for President Joe Biden's desk.
The U.S. House approved the legislation on Thursday, just a few days after the U.S.
US Senate advances water bills for tribes in Arizona
December 20, 2022 GMTFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Senate has advanced three bills that would improve access to water for some tribes in Arizona amid an unrelenting drought.
One measure approved Monday would give the Colorado River Indian Tribes in northwestern Arizona the ability to lease water from the Colorado River.
Conferees told Colorado River action ‘absolutely critical’
December 17, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — The first weeks of 2023 will be crucial for Southwest U.S. states and water entities to agree how to use less water from the drought-stricken and fast-shrinking Colorado River, a top federal water manager said Friday.
More questions than answers at Colorado River water meetings
December 16, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Key questions resurfaced Thursday at a conference of Colorado River water administrators and users from seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and Mexico who are served by the shrinking river stricken by drought and climate change.
Colorado River water users convening amid crisis concerns
December 13, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus this week for state and federal water administrators, tribal officials, farmers, academics and business representatives meeting about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River.
Biden: Nevada site sacred to tribes to be national monument
November 30, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden told a gathering of tribal leaders in Washington on Wednesday that he intends to designate an area considered sacred by area Native Americans in southern Nevada as a new national monument.
Drying California lake to get $250M in US drought funding
November 29, 2022 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The federal government said Monday it will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around a drying Southern California lake that's fed by the depleted Colorado River.
Western US cities to remove decorative grass amid drought
November 18, 2022 GMTSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of 30 agencies that supply water to homes and businesses throughout the western United States has pledged to rip up lots of decorative grass to help keep water in the over-tapped Colorado River.
Ex-Reclamation commissioner to head Arizona water entity
November 5, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — Former U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman will be the next general manager of the Arizona entity that distributes much of the state's water from the Colorado River to major metropolitan areas.
High court to hear water dispute between Navajo, government
November 4, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it will hear a water dispute involving the U.S. government and the Navajo Nation.
The high court said Friday it would review a lower court ruling in favor of the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
New US plan could lead to federal action on Colorado River
October 28, 2022 GMTFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Interior Department announced Friday that it will consider revising a set of guidelines for operating two major dams on the Colorado River in the first sign of what could lead to federal action to protect the once-massive but shrinking reservoirs behind them.
Divers find bone believed to be human at receding Lake Mead
October 27, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Divers have found more human remains at drought-stricken Lake Mead near Las Vegas, authorities said Thursday.
A National Park Service dive team confirmed Oct. 18 that a bone found a day earlier at Callville Bay was part of “human skeletal remains” on the Nevada side of the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam, according to a statement from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Arizona’s Sen Kelly slams California on Colorado River use
October 26, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — California communities exposed to hazardous dust by a drying lake bed have found themselves at the center of tensions between Arizona and California over how to conserve water along the overtaxed Colorado River.
California agencies float Colorado River water cuts proposal
October 6, 2022 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California water agencies that rely on the parched Colorado River said Wednesday they can reduce their use by one-tenth starting in 2023 in response to calls for cuts from the federal government.
California man dies in apparent boating accident in Arizona
September 27, 2022 GMTPARKER, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a California man in an apparent boating accident on the Colorado River in northwestern Arizona.
Colorado River Station Marine Enforcement officials said deputies were called to investigate a boating collision around 7 a.m.
Watering ban lifted in LA County after pipeline repair
September 19, 2022 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — Water officials on Monday lifted a temporary ban on outdoor watering in parts of Los Angeles County after emergency repairs were completed on a pipeline that brings Colorado River water to Southern California.
On the Colorado River, growing concern for trout and chub
September 17, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — To guide fishing trips for a year or two, that's what brought Terry Gunn to the red canyons of northern Arizona. The chance to hike, raft and fly fish drew Wendy Hanvold, a retired ski bum, who took a job there waiting tables at an anglers lodge.
1 dead after motorboat flips at Grand Canyon National Park
September 12, 2022 GMTGRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — A 67-year-old man died after a motorboat flipped over during a Colorado River trip inside Grand Canyon National Park, officials said Sunday.
Park officials said the boat overturned shortly after 2 p.m.
Pipe repair forces ban on watering in some LA County areas
September 6, 2022 GMTBURBANK, Calif. (AP) — A 15-day ban on outdoor watering went into effect Tuesday in parts of Los Angeles County so that repairs can be made to a major pipeline that delivers Colorado River water to seven cities and four local water districts.
Arizona woman dies on backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon
September 6, 2022 GMTGRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona woman has died while backpacking in Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said Tuesday.
Park officials said 59-year-old Delphine Martinez of Window Rock was found dead Sunday along the Thunder River Trail about one mile from the confluence of Tapeats Creek and the Colorado River.
Pipe repair requires wide ban on LA County outdoor watering
August 31, 2022 GMTBURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Water officials on Tuesday called on numerous communities in Los Angeles County to eliminate all outdoor watering for 15 days next month while a pipeline that brings Colorado River water to Southern California undergoes emergency repairs.
Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River
August 19, 2022 GMTSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning.
How new Colorado River cuts will impact states, residents
August 18, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona and Nevada residents won't face bans on watering their lawns or washing their cars despite more Colorado River water shortages.
Western states hit with more cuts to Colorado River water
August 16, 2022 GMTSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Deadline looms for western states to cut Colorado River use
August 15, 2022 GMTSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Banks along parts of the Colorado River where water once streamed are now just caked mud and rock as climate change makes the Western U.S. hotter and drier.
More than two decades of drought have done little to deter the region from diverting more water than flows through it, depleting key reservoirs to levels that now jeopardize water delivery and hydropower production.
Remains found Saturday at Lake Mead may be from July 25 set
August 9, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Human remains found at Lake Mead National Recreation Area last weekend may actually be from the same set of bones discovered 12 days earlier, authorities said Tuesday.
National Park Service officials said rangers were called Saturday to the reservoir between Nevada and Arizona after skeletal remains were discovered at Swim Beach.
More human remains discovered as drought dries Lake Mead
August 7, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — More human remains have been found at drought-stricken Lake Mead National Recreation Area east of Las Vegas, authorities said Sunday.
It’s the fourth time since May that remains have been uncovered as Western drought forces the shoreline to retreat at the shrinking Colorado River reservoir behind the Hoover Dam.
Microplastics increasingly found in Colorado’s snowpack
August 6, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — As the focus on the electron microscope resolved, Richard Reynolds found himself feeling more resigned than surprised.
The slide before him was a snowpack sample collected from pristine Colorado high country.
US to fill border wall gaps at open area near Yuma, Arizona
July 28, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday authorized completion of the Trump-funded U.S.-Mexico border wall in an open area of southern Arizona near Yuma that has become one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.
Body near Lake Mead swimming site 3rd to surface since May
July 26, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Another body has surfaced at Lake Mead — this time in a swimming area where water levels have dropped as the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam recedes because of drought and climate change.
Drought drives Las Vegas to cap size of home swimming pools
July 21, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Limiting the size of new swimming pools in and around Las Vegas might save a drop in the proverbial bucket amid historic drought and climate change in the West.
Officials are taking the plunge anyway, capping the size of new swimming pools at single-family residential homes to about the size of a three-car garage.
Hoover Dam transformer explodes; no one hurt
July 20, 2022 GMTBOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — A transformer exploded Tuesday at Hoover Dam, one of the nation's largest hydroelectric facilities, producing a thick cloud of black smoke and flames that were quickly extinguished.
Hoover Dam transformer explodes; no one hurt
July 20, 2022 GMTBOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — A transformer exploded Tuesday at Hoover Dam, one of the nation's largest hydroelectric facilities, producing a thick cloud of black smoke and flames that were quickly extinguished.
California man dies after being struck by jet ski in Arizona
July 7, 2022 GMTA California man has died in a Nevada hospital after he was injured in a jet ski accident on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, authorities said Thursday.
Bullhead City police said 43-year-old Ricardo Aponte Almanza of Corona died Wednesday afternoon at University Medical Center in Las Vegas.