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Phoenix among those voluntarily losing Colorado River water

Colorado River Drought
Colorado River Drought
Posted at 10:00 PM, Jan 09, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-10 01:00:35-05

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The city of Phoenix has outlined what it will contribute voluntarily to a regional plan to shore up a reservoir that delivers Colorado River water to three states and Mexico.

The river already can't provide seven Western states what they were promised a century ago. Phoenix, the nation's fifth largest city, is among entities that will pitch in to fulfill the so-called 500+ Plan.

Colorado River Drought
FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2015, file photo, a riverboat glides through Lake Mead on the Colorado River at Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nevada. In a stop-gap measure to keep Lake Mead from falling to 1,020 feet (311 meters above sea level), Arizona, Nevada and California and the U.S.Bureau of Reclamation will reduce water use by at least 500,000 acre feet in 2022 and again in 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

City officials say they'll leave some water in Lake Mead that straddles the Arizona-Nevada border instead of storing it underground as planned.

The plan will be implemented as Arizona, Nevada and Mexico are forced to endure their first-ever mandatory cuts from the river.