LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The threat of litigation hung over every conversation and interview Wednesday as some of the biggest names in local water policy gathered at the 2026 Water Summit at Springs Preserve.
"This entire river has to be a model of shared sacrifice," John Entsminger, Nevada's lead negotiator and the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said.
“If negotiations fail, we’ll protect the people of Nevada," he continued.
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Meanwhile, Lake Mead sits at record-low levels, and the seven basin states remain at a negotiation stalemate, while the federal government has yet to issue a decision on the post-2026 guidelines for the river.
The fourth annual summit, hosted by Congresswoman Susie Lee, brought together advocates and officials to address the growing crisis surrounding the Colorado River, which supplies water to millions of people across seven states, including 90% of the water supply used in Southern Nevada.
Lee pushed back against the idea of resolving the dispute through the courts.
"Litigation should be the one option that's off the table," Lee said.
But Lee also acknowledged the severity of the situation facing the entire basin.
"Nevada is not at risk of not having water, but going forward this is a basin," Lee said. "It's seven states; all of us are in crisis at this point, and we need to act like that."
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Despite that urgency and reluctance to battle it out in a courtroom, the states remain starkly divided over how the river's dwindling supply should be divided — and lawsuits may be unavoidable.
Entsminger outlined the core disagreement between the Upper and Lower Basin states.
"The Upper Basin's argument is they believe the river should be divided 50/50 and right now the Lower Basin is still using more than 50%, so they don't think they should do anything until we're down to 50% of the use," Entsminger explained.
Entsminger pointed to aggressive local conservation efforts as the reason Nevada remains protected, despite the unknown.
"We have a legal entitlement to 1.8% of the river, yet we have banked in Lake Mead, in our aquifer under Las Vegas, 11 years of our total supply. So when I say we do the most with the least, the math doesn't lie," Entsminger said.
With the deadline approaching Oct. 1, Entsminger said he remains confident during closed-door negotiations due to the water-saving Nevada has accomplished.
"Hopefully between now and then we've worked something out and nobody needs to go to court, but all seven states are sovereign and they get to make their own decisions," Entsminger said.
