PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state’s chief water official head to Washington on Friday to make their case to a top official in the Trump administration and other governors that Arizona already has taken major cuts in its Colorado River supply even while Upper Basin states like Colorado have taken none.
The meetings with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum come as the seven states that use the river have blown past a November deadline set by the Interior Department to develop a new agreement on how to split up the flow of the river that’s a lifeline for all of them. The river supports 40 million residents and farms that grow the bulk of the nation’s winter produce, much of that in Arizona.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has set a new date of Feb. 14 for the states to reach a deal on how to operate lakes Mead and Powell after this year or it will step in. Both Arizona and Colorado are gearing up for litigation if necessary.
