Nevada filed a lawsuit on Monday against the administration of President Donald Trump, seeking to block new federal restrictions on water drawn from the Colorado River. State officials said the measures could cut Nevada's annual water allocation by as much as 71%.
The state's current allocation stands at roughly 370 million cubic meters a year. Las Vegas depends on the Colorado River for about 90% of its water supply, making the case especially significant for the city.
The Colorado River is a major resource for the southwestern United States, supplying Phoenix, Arizona, and irrigating large agricultural areas. Around 40 million people depend on its waters. Decades of excessive withdrawals, combined with years of drought, have strained a system that was historically built on an overestimate of how much water the river actually provides.
A critical issue for Nevada and Las Vegas
The federal government has put forward a plan to cut combined water consumption by the three lower basin states, Arizona, California and Nevada, by nearly 3.7 billion cubic meters a year by 2036. The four upper basin states, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, would face no mandatory reductions under the plan.
John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday that four states upstream of Nevada face no mandatory reductions at all. He said the plan would not balance the system, calling it a problem that concerns the system as a whole.
The issue is especially sensitive in southern Nevada. Las Vegas relies on the Colorado River for about 90% of its water, and the region is home to close to two-thirds of the state's population, roughly 2.5 million of Nevada's 3.3 million residents, as well as the bulk of its economic activity.
Republican Governor Joe Lombardo said on Monday that this was not a political stance but a matter of survival for residents who make up about two-thirds of the state's population and most of its economy.
Arizona also expected to sue
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the maximum reduction would lower Nevada's allocation from about 370 million cubic meters to 106.6 million cubic meters a year. The state's consumption last year came to about 244.2 million cubic meters, after accounting for credits earned through water recycling.
Lawyers for Nevada, the Colorado River Commission and the Southern Nevada Water Authority are asking the court to suspend the plan, arguing that federal authorities failed to adequately assess its economic, environmental and public health consequences.
The White House considers the restrictions necessary after the seven states of the Colorado River basin failed to reach a joint agreement on managing the river. Federal authorities have warned that without reductions, the operation of dams used to generate hydroelectric power could be threatened, with Lake Mead and Lake Powell already at historically low levels.
Nevada may not be alone in taking the matter to court. Arizona, which faces the largest reductions under the federal plan, is also expected to challenge it.
