Utah leaders are preparing for a legal fight over the Colorado River as the seven states that share the dwindling water supply remain at odds.
Utah lawmakers have requested roughly $6 million to be earmarked for litigation over the Colorado River.
“It’s really, really critical to our state,” Rep. Rex Shipp, vice chair of the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, said about the river during a committee meeting on Feb. 11.
About 40 million people across Utah, the Southwest U.S. and northern Mexico rely on the Colorado River for drinking water and agriculture. Over two decades of drought and an exceptionally warm and dry winter this year have pushed the river system near a breaking point: Lake Powell may reach power pool this year, cutting off electricity generation and unleashing infrastructure challenges at Glen Canyon Dam.
The seven states missed a deadline set by federal officials to reach a deal on how to share the critical waterway during dry times. Current guidelines expire at the end of the year, and the federal government must finalize operating guidelines for the river’s major reservoirs, Powell and Lake Mead, by Oct. 1, the Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement Friday. Without an agreement among the states, legal fights become more likely.
“Failure to reach consensus could lead to litigation that would likely take decades to resolve and delay progress towards the solutions needed at this crucial moment for the Basin and its communities,” a coalition of conservation and sportsmen groups, including Trout Unlimited and Western Resource Advocates, said in a statement last week.
Utah wants a deal where states agree to not sue one another if the river’s flow below Glen Canyon Dam falls short of what states committed to in the Colorado River Compact over a century ago. The flow may drop below that “tripwire,” as Colorado River experts call it, as soon as this year.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
“The essential consideration for Utah is that we have that certainty that we’re not going to wind up in court defending a compact claim as early as next year,” Amy Haas, director of the Colorado River Authority of Utah, told The Tribune in January.
Utah’s Colorado River negotiator, Gene Shawcroft, said last week that he was “optimistic” that the states will find a way to avoid litigation, which could last decades and cost millions of dollars.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to avoid litigation, but at the same time, we have to have a deal that works for the state of Utah,” he said.
In case the states don’t reach a deal, though, the Utah Legislature is preparing for possible lawsuits.
What the legislature is proposing
Rep. Shipp, R-Cedar City, is sponsoring a bill that allocates $5 million to the Department of Natural Resources for legal fights over water in 2027. That bill, HB157, referred to as the “DNR cleanup bill,” adds language that says the department may fund litigation concerning the state’s water interests.
“This is mainly to litigate our Colorado River issues,” Shipp said.
Last week, the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee also voted in support of appropriating $1 million in new funds for the Colorado River Authority of Utah to prepare for potential litigation and expand technical modeling and other operations as negotiations continue.
“This is a million dollar investment into Utah’s water security,” Sen. David Hinkins, R-Ferron, said when he presented the request to the appropriations subcommittee that he chairs on Feb. 5.
Beyond shoring up funds, the legislature is also working to make the authority’s role in defending Utah’s water clearer. HB473, sponsored by Rep. Scott Chew, R-Jensen, adds language to the authority’s duties that says it may work with the Office of the Attorney General to prepare the state for litigation.
“We just wanted to make sure that … we had the capacity and the structure in place so that we could really engage in that side of things if it goes there,” Cody Stewart, director of strategic engagement for the Colorado River Authority of Utah, said.
Other states, like Arizona, have been gearing up for litigation, Stewart added. “Utah can’t afford to sit idly by and wait and watch.”
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver.