Interior Finalizes the Deepest Colorado River Cuts on Record — 1.25 Million Acre-Feet a Year, With Arizona Absorbing 760,000 — as Lake Mead and Lake Powell Fall to Levels Not Seen Since 1963
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed the Record of Decision and the 2027–2028 Operating Guidelines for the Colorado River on August 21, 2026, ordering the Lower Basin states to cut 1.25 million acre-feet of water use a year — Arizona 760,000, California 440,000, Nevada 50,000 — and adopting a ten-year decision framework through 2036. Combined storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead is now lower than at any time since Powell began filling in 1963, after a record-low 2025–26 snowpack. Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, who had warned three weeks earlier that the draft framework could place an "unfair burden" on their state, welcomed the final plan and said every basin state now needs to do its part. Gov. Katie Hobbs said the plan saved Arizona from cuts that "would have crippled our economy" while protecting Upper Basin reservoirs at Lake Mead's expense. Gov. Gavin Newsom called it "a necessary step." Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, the only Republican governor among the three Lower Basin states, was the harshest, saying the federal government is "positioning to short Nevada" — the state with just 1.8 percent of the river's allocation.
“We are grateful for the Seven Basin States, the thirty Basin Tribes, Mexico, and many other basin stakeholders who have provided the feedback and voluntary arrangements necessary for the development of the 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines.”