LAS VEGAS —Negotiators locked in a showdown over how to share the ever-shrinking Colorado River offered little optimism this week for reaching an agreement anytime soon, even as they acknowledged one potentially unifying goal: Keep management of the waterway out of federal court.
Tensions between top officials from seven Western states spilled into public view at the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference, as representatives sought to showcase competing plans that would decide which states must absorb the pain of cuts from a waterway projected to further diminish as temperatures rise and precipitation drops.
State negotiators — along with outside observers keenly following the talks — repeatedly talked, too, about the unattractive possibility of their debates ending up in federal courthouses for decades to come.
Federal and state leaders worry that a major lawsuit, or even a spate of lesser challenges, could shackle management of one of the nation’s major waterways, which supports key agricultural regions and major cities, including Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix and Salt Lake City. But with a late 2026 deadline looming and state officials standing firm on their positions, some observers speculated that any final deal may not be satisfactory enough to avoid legal fallout.
