Key Points:

• The seven Colorado River states did not reach a deal before a federally-imposed Nov. 11 deadline

• The U.S. Department of the Interior has pledged to intervene

• Gov. Katie Hobbs joined Republican legislative leaders in a letter calling on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to end the stalemate

A federally-imposed deadline for reaching an agreement on Colorado River allocations has come and gone with no solution, spurring a bipartisan call to action from Arizona leaders to the U.S. Department of the Interior. 

The Interior Department gave the seven Colorado River states until Nov. 11 to reach a deal on how to share the river’s water between the four Upper Basin states and the three Lower Basin states. However, a deal was nowhere in sight in the weeks and days leading up to the deadline and was not reached by the end of the day, according to a joint statement from the seven states, the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation. 

“While more work needs to be done, collective progress has been made that warrants continued efforts to define and approve details for a finalized agreement,” the statement said. “Through continued cooperation and coordinated action, there is a shared commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainability and resilience of the Colorado River system.”

Despite assembling for an eleventh-hour meeting in Arizona on the day of the deadline, negotiators were unable to reach a compromise that could ensure each of the seven states receives its fair share of water amid declining river levels. What happens next is still up in the air, but Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum indicated that federal intervention would occur if the states could not come to their own agreement.

Arizona is a Lower Basin state, alongside California and Nevada, and its water negotiators have long maintained that the state has already made and agreed to additional water usage cuts. The Lower Basin negotiators have argued that the Upper Basin states — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico — are unwilling to make any meaningful cuts to their water usage and instead expect the drier Lower Basin states to bear the brunt of the river’s declining flows. 

“The Lower Basin states have come to the table with offer after offer, with real sacrifices in our water — Arizona taking the brunt of that sacrifice — and the Upper Basin, being led by Colorado, really has refused to budge at all and has refused to take any cuts,” Gov. Katie Hobbs told reporters on Nov. 11.

Hobbs, joined by Senate President Warren Petersen, House Speaker Steve Montenegro, Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan and House Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos, urged Burgum in a letter to end the negotiating stalemate and honor the framework of the original Colorado River compact, which will expire at the end of 2026. 

“We write to stress to you that Arizona’s Colorado River allocation is important to not only Arizona and its citizens, but also to the nation’s economic growth and independence,” state leaders wrote. “Colorado River reliability in Arizona is a matter of national security. However, based on the trajectory of Post-2026 negotiations over the last two years, it seems that these foundations of growth are at risk due to the refusal of the Upper Basin States to offer meaningful, verifiable conservation commitments.” 

Hobbs told reporters on the day of the federally imposed deadline that she was still unsure about what federal intervention would look like, though she said she imagines it will involve more negotiating. In a press release, Hobbs’ office said the governor is expected to meet with Burgum next week. 

The state is also prepared to go to court to protect its share of Colorado River water after Hobbs and lawmakers earlier this year doled out $1.5 million to the Arizona Department of Water Resources for potential litigation arising from a deal imposed by the federal government. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior has set an Oct. 1, 2026, deadline for new Colorado River guidelines to take effect, and several other administrative hurdles must be cleared in order to meet that deadline.