Arizona Will Work Out A Colorado River Drought Plan

 United States

Rafters float down the Colorado River near Moab, Utah, July 25, 2017. Scant snow in the mountains that feed the Colorado River means the river will probably send less than half the normal amount of runoff into Lake Powell this spring. Credit: Dan Elliot, AP

Arizona water officials committed Thursday to reach a multi-state plan by the end of the year to stave off Colorado River water shortages, or at least lessen the impact.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been prodding Western states to wrap up drought contingency plans, one each in the lower and upper basins. Little snowpack, rising temperatures and ongoing drought have led to steady declines in the river that serves 40 million people in seven U.S. states.