Checking in on Tense Colorado River Negotiations with Anne Castle and John Fleck

Given a looming negotiation deadline and recent changes in federal operations, this is an apt time for us to check back in on how things are going with Colorado River management. Frequent listeners and 10X Summit attendees alike will be well acquainted with how clearly this topic illustrates our collective responsibility to be proactive in the face of the "knowable future".  

A 100-year-old miscalculation of water availability and the recent multi-decade drought have put our use of the Colorado River on an unsustainable path. This became apparent in 2021, as critical reservoirs at Lakes Mead and Powell approached a deadpool low-water scenario that would endanger hydropower generation at major dams and water deliveries to users further south. The risk level triggered immediate federal intervention and the renegotiation of a basin-wide agreement for sharing and conserving this vital resource.  

Stakeholders now have less than a month to submit a joint management proposal to the Bureau of Reclamation in time to be vetted for a new interstate compact. If this September, 2026 deadline is missed, the cooperative systems and oversight that have protected the Colorado River since 1944 may expire without an immediate replacement.  

Meanwhile, major layoffs are planned or underway at the Bureau and the Department of the Interior, and federal funding for river conservation has been frozen. Anne Castle, former U.S. commissioner and chair of the Upper Colorado River Commission is among those employees to have lost their positions in this transition.

Three years after their first Ten Across Conversations appearance together, today Anne and fellow renowned Western water policy expert John Fleck revisit the key themes and offer their thoughts on progress toward a positive policy future in the Colorado Basin.  

Related articles and resources:

 Listen to our first episode with Anne and John from 2022  

Learn more about the 1994 U.S.-Mexico water treaty in this Ten Across Conversations podcast

“Trump admin rejects Colorado River water request from Mexico in first since 1944” (The Hill, March 2025)  

“Green Light for Adaptive Policies on the Colorado River” (Anne Castle and John Fleck, 2021)

“The Risk of Curtailment under the Colorado River Compact” (Anne Castle and John Fleck, 2019)

“Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States: A National Action Plan” (US Water Alliance, 2019)  

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