(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rafts on the Colorado River as seen from Navajo Bridge in Ariz. in May of 2025.
“We cannot negotiate with people who say what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable.”— John F. Kennedy
Representatives of the seven U.S. states — including Utah — that live on the water flowing through the Colorado River system have until November 11 to come up with a tentative plan to manage the ever-decreasing amounts of liquid in the basin.
While we can’t be sure — substantive talks are happening behind closed doors — there seems little hope of meeting that deadline. Political and financial incentives push each state to protect its own narrow interests.
If those talks do fail, the federal government may have to step in to manage the river. Which might be the best we can hope for.
If that’s what happens, Utah’s leaders should let it go. Not dam up an already overdue process by filing lawsuits or lobbying Washington.
A federal takeover of the river’s management, whether by executive branch agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation or a special master appointed by the courts, would offer at least the possibility of an overall look at the 246,000 square miles of the Colorado River basin.
Even oversight by an administration, such as the one we have now, that can’t spell “climate change,” could be an improvement.
Politicians of both parties in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada will put up quite a squawk. But they have had years to reach agreement among themselves, and they have spent their time mostly arguing over who gets water that doesn’t exist.
It’s like fighting over who gets the most fairy dust.
We are, year after year, taking more water out of the Colorado than nature is putting in. Whether you call it a long drought or climate change or something else, it’s the new normal we must live with.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead aren’t getting the water they need to either store water for times of need or generate clean hydroelectric power for the region. Some 70% of the water used in the basin is for agriculture, from alfalfa in Utah to vegetables in the Imperial Valley of California.
A federal takeover of the system, if it’s honest, will mean a reallotment of water rights for all seven states, plus 30 Native American nations and Mexico.
Utah and other states in the northern part of the basin may get less. That will mean, among other things, abandoning the benighted pipeline project aimed at sluicing water from dwindling Lake Powell to thirsty St. George, and will require rules with teeth to use less water for everything from lawns to hay to swimming pools.
We should also use market forces — higher prices for water and financial incentives for conservation — to reduce consumption.
California, with its senior water rights, political pull and status as source of two-thirds of the winter produce eaten in the United States, will likely come out on top.
But it will be a pretty small heap to be on top of.
We may also hope for a more open process. Give the people of Utah some credit. If they see the whole picture, they may support a future that favors the greater good, versus any state’s parochial interests.
As for the Utah officials who will be left with little say in the matter, well, look at the bright side. They will be relieved of any true responsibility for solving a thorny question while being handed yet another excuse to engage in their favorite pastime, blaming the feds for everything.
Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.