2025 CRWUA Conference Update: Urgency Grows

This year’s Colorado River Water Users Association (CRWUA) Conference in Las Vegas brought together water managers, state officials, federal representatives, and stakeholders to confront the intensifying crisis gripping the Colorado River — a vital water source for over 35 million people and agriculture across the West.

No Long-Term Consensus...Yet

Despite years of negotiation and a Nov. 11 deadline set by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the seven Basin states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — failed to agree on a long-term plan for managing the river once current guidelines expire at the end of 2026. 

Nevada’s lead negotiator suggested that while a durable deal remains elusive, a short-term agreement — perhaps lasting five years — might be possible to avoid costly litigation and maintain some stability.

Federal officials, including the Bureau of Reclamation, have set a new Feb. 14 deadline for progress, warning that failure to reach consensus could invite federal intervention or legal challenges that could take years and millions of dollars to resolve. The one point everyone can agree on is that avoiding litigation is of critical importance. 

Conservation Leaders Highlight Broader Risks

Conservation organizations, particularly those focused on river health and climate-aware water policy, used the conference moment to underscore the stakes:

• A joint statement released after the Nov. 11 deadline by American Rivers, Western Resource Advocates, and other environmental groups stressed their disappointment at the lack of consensus and warned that “the River isn’t going to wait for process or for politics.” They emphasized that without a new framework, the basin remains vulnerable to escalating risks including declining reservoir storage and climate-intensified drought.

• Western Resource Advocates highlighted in its own commentary that the Colorado River’s decline is already underway, and the region needs water management that responds to climate change, proactive conservation, and protection of river ecosystems and tribal communities alike. The group called for a shift away from political gridlock toward solutions rooted in science and collaboration.

Western Resource Advocates reinforced that any post-2026 policy must prioritize expanded conservation efforts, resilience-building investments and meaningful inclusion of Tribal perspectives in decision-making.

The Stakes Remain High

The Colorado River system — encompassing reservoirs like Lakes Powell and Mead — is under sustained pressure from chronic drought, overuse and climate-driven declines in flows. Without new operating rules and durable management, experts warn that the Basin could default to outdated 1970s criteria that are ill-suited for today’s hydrologic realities.

As 2026 draws nearer, advocacy groups continue to press for constructive solutions rather than crisis management, arguing that smart conservation and negotiated compromise offer the best path forward for communities, agriculture, ecosystems and Tribal nations that depend on the Colorado River’s future.

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Sources

• “Colorado River water negotiators appear no closer to long-term agreement,” AP-derived reporting (Dec. 2025) — states failed to meet a Nov. deadline and face a new Feb. 14 deadline for post-2026 guidelines. KRWG

• KRWG Public Media: Same coverage on negotiation impasse and short-term deal possibilities. KRWG

• “The Colorado River Cannot Wait… Solutions Are Needed Now,” American Rivers, Western Resource Advocatesand partners joint statement (Nov. 2025). WRA

• Western Resource Advocates blog: “The Colorado River is Not Going to Wait for Politics,” highlighting climate, conservation and policy urgency. WRA

• Colorado Politics and VailDaily coverage on joint environmental group statements urging science-based solutions and broader inclusion. Colorado Politics

• “Deadline looms for new Colorado River plan…,” KAWC overview of the federal planning process, future management scenarios, and default risks under outdated criteria. KAWC