At the 2025 annual meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association (“CRWUA”) in Las Vegas, Arizona State University law professor Rhett Larson characterized the search for long-term post-2026 operating criteria for the Colorado River akin to a bankruptcy proceeding. A bankruptcy proceeding provides a forum for various priorities of creditors to “sort out” a failed enterprise and compromise their interests to solve pressing problems promptly.
The analogy is thought-provoking.
Time for the federal government to put the Colorado River Basin States under a five-year federal plan if they fail once again to meet their next deadline (February 14, 2026). Management of the Colorado River cannot wait. A “federal watermaster” should set short-term “rules of the road” as the parties continue to grapple with long-term issues. Time to abandon the past structure of shortage declarations and manage the Colorado River’s future with adaptative, forward-looking risk management.
The case statement has the following components:
The Hydrologic Challenge
The Catastrophic Failure of Colorado River Management
The Impasse of Seven Basin State Perspectives
Anticipated Future Challenges of Colorado River Management
Principles of a five-year federal plan