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Water officials meeting this week about falling levels of Colorado River

By Greg Hahne
Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2022 - 3:02pm
Updated: Thursday, December 15, 2022 - 11:32am

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Colorado River
M. Quinn/National Park Service
The Colorado River.

Living with less water in the Southwest is the focus this week for state and federal water administrators, tribal officials, farmers and others as they meet about falling levels of the Colorado River.

This year's conference of the Colorado River Water Users Association comes at a time of growing concern about the future of the river.

In June, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told seven states, including Arizona, to find a way to use 15% less water next year or have restrictions imposed on them.

No agreement has come yet. 

This year’s meeting runs Wednesday through Friday and marks 100 years since an agreement divvied up water shares among seven states with 40-million people now.

At the beginning of the month, the Bureau of Reclamation hosted events for public comment about possible actions as Colorado River flow is the lowest its been in over a century.

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