Colorado Basin Program News Today

Federal officials on Tuesday eased Colorado River water use restrictions due to a "lucky" year of increased precipitation, but drought and overuse remain a crisis.

Federal officials on Tuesday eased Colorado River water use restrictions due to a "lucky" year of increased precipitation, but drought and overuse remain a crisis as states, federal officials and tribes begin negotiations for the future of the river on which 40 million people in the West rely.

"The Colorado River — which provides drinking water, irrigation and electricity for more than 40 million people in the West — is the most endangered river in the United States this year, according to the nonprofit conservation group American Rivers."