As Nevada and Arizona prepare for a federal court battle with the U.S. Department of the Interior over dwindling water supplies from the Colorado River, state officials are warning legislators that Wyoming could be impacted by the fight.
State Engineer Brandon Gebhardt represents Wyoming on the Upper Colorado River Commission. On Friday in Casper, he told the Legislature’s Select Water Committee that the commission hadn’t yet decided whether the four Upper Basin states will intervene in the court battle.
Water committee co-chair Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, said the potential effects of the federal court battle involving Nevada on Wyoming can’t be taken lightly.
“We could end up in a situation where a federal court in the state of Nevada could be taking over the (water) management. Really, the job of the Bureau of Reclamation,” she said.
Gebhardt was joined in updating the committee by Chris Brown, supervising attorney general for the water section in the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office.
At one point, Lawley asked Brown if her assessment of the situation was accurate.
“Madame Chair, from my personal perspective, you are on target,” Brown responded.
Brown at one point suggested that tensions over the Colorado River could end up before the Supreme Court.
‘You Are On Target’
Nevada in August filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, and Arizona filed a motion to intervene as a second plaintiff in October. The federal government asked for an extension, and the court is expected to receive the federal government's response to the states’ complaints by Dec. 10.
The states claim they can’t accept water-allocation cuts under the Interior Department’s 2027-2028 operating guidelines, which fall under a broader 2027-2036 Colorado River decision framework and are implemented through the Bureau of Reclamation.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called the cuts “draconian.”
Nevada claims that cuts could have devastating effects on Las Vegas, which gets about 90% of its water supply from the Colorado River.
Arizona claims the Interior Department isn’t holding the Upper Basin states, including Wyoming, accountable for obligations to supply the Lower Basin under the 1922 Colorado River Compact.
The compact divides the river basin into the Upper Basin, consisting of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, and the Lower Basin, consisting of Nevada, Arizona and California. Mexico and several Native American tribes also have water rights involving the Colorado River, but those rights are not granted by the 1922 compact itself.
Disputes over the claims and conditions of the 1922 compact might not be settled in federal district court, Brown said.
“Those questions are appropriately heard by only one court, and it is not the federal District Court of Nevada. It is the United States Supreme Court, and that court should be taking up those questions,” he said.
Even so, Wyoming’s main strategy regarding Colorado River rights is to continue to seek consensus between the states, rather than litigation, Brown said.
What About That Rain Boost?
Meanwhile, replenishing water drained from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, on the Wyoming-Utah state line, remains a priority, Gebhardt told lawmakers.
Under the current Drought Response Operations Agreement, up to 1 million acre-feet of water could be released from Flaming Gorge through April 2027 to make up for shortages at Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona state line.
By the end of October, about 458,000 acre-feet of water already had been pulled from Flaming Gorge, Gebhardt said.
Tony Valdez, owner of the Buckboard Marina on the Wyoming side, told Cowboy State Daily that the drawdowns have essentially destroyed the marina.
During October, torrential rainstorms and flooding in the Four Corners area caused a natural surge into Lake Powell, prompting Valdez and others to question the need to continue pulling from Flaming Gorge.
Gebhardt said the surge was a welcome relief in terms of hydrology, but it also came with “devastating consequences” for people and infrastructure in the Four Corners region.
As of Thursday, the surface elevation of Lake Powell was up 17.6 feet from the beginning of October, he said.
But the boost wasn’t enough to solve Lake Powell’s woes, he added.
“Even with this bump, Lake Powell is only at 27% of capacity. It’s not great. It’s better, but it’s still not great, Gebhardt said.
In the face of long-running drought, Gebhardt said he favors keeping Flaming Gorge and other Upper Basin reservoirs as full as possible.
“It does make sense to store water higher in the system for multiple reasons. It reaches more places, and there’s less evaporation,” he said.
Depending upon this winter’s snowpack and other factors, replenishing Flaming Gorge is a priority, Gebhardt said.
“We’re going to push for that,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
