More than one in 10 Americans rely on the Colorado River to take showers and drink clean water. But with no end in sight to the decades-long drought in the western US and rapidly decreasing river levels, this essential resource is fueling bitter disputes over who, exactly, should be cutting back on water.
This fight has been coming to a head especially among the seven states that make up the Colorado River Compact — California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming — as well as a sliver of Mexico and over 20 tribal nations that rely on the 1.9 trillion gallons of water pulled from the Colorado River for use each year.
The Colorado River Compact states failed to [reach a Valentine’s Day deadline for a deal](https://coloradosun.com/2026/02/17/colorado-river-negotiations-federal-government-trump/) on how water would be apportioned for the next two decades, with the current rules set to expire this fall. If the states don’t agree to more ambitious cuts soon, the federal government could step in and unilaterally decide for them.
>All told, animal feed accounts for at least 47 percent of all water pulled from the Colorado River — yet the imprudence of devoting so much water to one industry receives little to no attention in public discussion over the West’s water crisis.
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More than one in 10 Americans rely on the Colorado River to take showers and drink clean water. But with no end in sight to the decades-long drought in the western US and rapidly decreasing river levels, this essential resource is fueling bitter disputes over who, exactly, should be cutting back on water.
This fight has been coming to a head especially among the seven states that make up the Colorado River Compact — California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming — as well as a sliver of Mexico and over 20 tribal nations that rely on the 1.9 trillion gallons of water pulled from the Colorado River for use each year.
[Record low snowfall](https://www.wired.com/story/record-low-snow-in-the-west-will-mean-less-water-more-fire-and-political-chaos/) in the West this winter has further strained the situation, and this week, tensions are running especially high.
The Colorado River Compact states failed to [reach a Valentine’s Day deadline for a deal](https://coloradosun.com/2026/02/17/colorado-river-negotiations-federal-government-trump/) on how water would be apportioned for the next two decades, with the current rules set to expire this fall. If the states don’t agree to more ambitious cuts soon, the federal government could step in and unilaterally decide for them.
But it’s unclear exactly what that future would look like. Last year, the US Department of the Interior [published a proposal](https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBasin/documents/post2026/alternatives/Post-2026_Alternatives_Report_20250117_508.pdf) with five potential options for the river’s future. Most involve a mix of voluntary and mandated water usage cuts, while another — fairly dire — option is “no action” at all.
The ongoing and escalating water crunch has inspired localities throughout the West to creatively conserve water through [water recycling programs](https://ktar.com/arizona-water-news/drinking-water-phoenix-plants/5748193/), [ripping out grass lawns](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-water-conservation-grass/), and [hiking rates](https://www.irwd.com/images/pdf/rates/ADOPTED-RatesCharges82725.pdf) when households use water in excess. But ultimately, if the Colorado River has any chance at sustaining tens of millions of Americans for decades to come, the western United States will need to do something that, on the surface, doesn’t seem to have much to do with water conservation at all: raise *a lot* fewer cows.
Alfalfa
Stop shipping grain overseas.
>All told, animal feed accounts for at least 47 percent of all water pulled from the Colorado River — yet the imprudence of devoting so much water to one industry receives little to no attention in public discussion over the West’s water crisis.
Which really needs to be said far more often.