Offering a window into the five paths it will consider for the Colorado River, the Bureau of Reclamation released a roadmap to a seven-state deal.

The agency released five alternatives to consider for managing the river on its website Friday. A 45-day comment period during which the public can weigh in on the options will open next Friday, when the documents publish on the government’s official database, according to a news release.

As the states appear to go nowhere in frustrating negotiations, Assistant Secretary of Water and Science Andrea Travnicek has reiterated that the seven states have a deadline of Feb. 14 to strike a deal on sharing the river over the next 20 years. The current guidelines for the Colorado River that were minted in 2007 expire at the end of the year.

“The Department of the Interior is moving forward with this process to ensure environmental compliance is in place so operations can continue without interruption when the current guidelines expire,” Travnicek said in a statement. “The river and the 40 million people who depend on it cannot wait. In the face of an ongoing severe drought, inaction is not an option.”

The Colorado River, which provides about 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply via Lake Mead, is in crisis in more ways than one. Dwindling snow seasons coupled with rising temperatures have meant much less water flowing down the river, which exacerbates a century-old overuse problem.

Nevada and its sister states of Arizona and California in the Lower Basin have been at odds with the Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, with the Upper Basin refusing to budge on further cuts in use during times of extreme shortage.

5 possible alternatives

At a December conference in Las Vegas, the seven states appeared no closer to consensus, but Travnicek indicated that the federal government would move forward in the mandated public review process with or without an agreement.

The five alternatives, which state officials are reviewing, include upholding the status quo, basic coordination, enhanced coordination, maximum operational flexibility and a supply-driven proposal.

The supply-driven proposal has been floated before, basing releases from Lake Powell on a three-year average of actual flows in the river measured at Lees Ferry in Arizona.

“Colorado looks forward to reviewing the report,” Upper Colorado River Basin Commissioner Becky Mitchell said in a statement. “Colorado is committed to protecting our state’s significant interests in the Colorado River and continues to work towards a consensus-based, supply-driven solution.”

Nevada’s negotiator, Southern Nevada Water Authority general manager John Entsminger, suggested at the conference that he saw no possible way that the states could arrive at a 20-year deal. His spokesman said Nevada water officials are declining to comment until they fully review the report.

In the introduction to the documents, the agency said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum prefers a 20-year deal but “remains open to a shorter duration or phased implementation as part of a longer-term framework.”

Acting Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Scott Cameron said in a statement that the agency has not identified a preferred path forward.

“Reclamation anticipates that when an agreement is reached, it will incorporate elements or variations of these five alternatives and will be fully analyzed in the (final environmental impact statement) enabling the sustainable and effective management of the Colorado River,” Cameron said.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.