PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday that unless Upper Basin states offer up some firm commitments to conserve water she won’t agree to any deal for Arizona to cut its own withdrawals from the Colorado River.
That would lead to either Interior Secretary Doug Burgum imposing his own solution on the seven states that draw water from the river — or the situation having to be hashed out in court.
Only thing is, Burgum has so far refused to do more than bring the governors of the affected states together, as he did on Friday. And Terry Goddard, president of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, which oversees the state’s Colorado River supply, said options put forward by the Interior Department “are not palatable to Arizona or California,” one of the two other Lower Basin states.
