LAKE MEAD (KTNV & KNXV) — The Colorado River system, a lifeline for 40 million people across seven states, is in decline — as negotiations for water-sharing agreements approach a critical deadline.
The current guidelines governing use of the river expire in October of 2026, so decision-making should be ramping up for how Nevada and six other western states will share the essential water resource in the future.
VIDEO: Channel 13's Geneva Zoltek teams up with sister station ABC15 Arizona to report on water woes the southwest region faces
In June, a top Interior Department official reportedly proposed a November 11th deadline for the states to release a draft agreement — or face a federal takeover of the decision-making process.
To better understand how the pending agreements impact our region, Channel 13 teamed up with our Scripps News Group member station in Phoenix, Arizona, to hear from the people who depend on this river and those sounding the alarm about its future.
Across state lines
Known as the nation's "salad bowl," Yuma County, Arizona, is home to more than 180,000 acres of farmland. The area produces 90% of America's winter leafy greens.
And yet, this agricultural powerhouse receives only 3 to 4 inches of rain annually.
 KTNV | "We need this water, Colorado River water. This is a desert. We don't get rainfall. We need the Colorado River to grow our crops." Matt McGuire, Yuma County farmer
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Farmers in the region use about 700,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water yearly—enough to fill 345,000 Olympic swimming pools. McGuire, who has farmed the desert since the 1980s, remembers when water scarcity wasn't a concern.
"When I originally started, when I was young, the lakes were full, plenty of snow," McGuire said.
Closer to home
Hundreds of miles north of Yuma at Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, some drought began appearing in the early 2000s. Today, the waterway continues to show warning signs with major decline projected in 2027.
Lake Mead sits on the Nevada-Arizona border and is held in place by the Hoover Dam — supplying Las Vegas with 90% of its water.
"I'm very, very cautious about the water in my apartment. You know, I use just what I need. You know, I try to help." James Wilson, Las Vegas local
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"Yeah, I'm concerned about it, but what can I do?" said James Wilson, a Las Vegas local accustomed to living with water restrictions.
Wilson, who visits Echo Bay weekly to fish, is conscientious about his water usage. "I'm very, very cautious about the water in my apartment. You know, I use just what I need. You know, I try to help," he said.
He notes that water levels fluctuate between visits. "We noticed that sometimes we'll come up here and the water would be way up here, then sometimes it's way down there," Wilson said, gesturing to the water line.
What's ahead
"Moving forward, there is no solution in the upper basin that's going to solve the Powell and Mead problem," said Becky Mitchell, Upper Colorado River Commissioner for the state of Colorado, during 2024's water talks.
The negotiations have been contentious, with a recent pitch to 'amicably divorce' the upper and lower basin states making headlines earlier this year.
Kyle Roerink, director of the Great Basin Water Network, a watchdog group tracking the dwindling Colorado River, is concerned about the developments.
"Negotiations are not going well," Roerink said.
"Take a look at Lake Mead, is there water available right now?" he asked, "Do you believe in the science? If there's less water in the system, how can you say that you can take more?"
During a tour of Lake Mead, Roerink pointed out visible evidence of the crisis: the stark "bathtub ring" line marking previous water levels, a boat that emerged years after sinking, and exposed seashells.
"We have much lighter rocks at elevations that were once underwater," Roerink said. "This is a place that is telling us something about society. It's telling us something about our water cycle."
Despite water concerns, communities throughout the Southwest continue to grow, putting additional pressure on state negotiators who will decide the river's future.
For Roerink, the solution is straightforward. "It's actually basic math that there's not enough water in the system to use. More entities want to use, more entities don't want to cut. We have to cut, we have to use less," he said.
Roerink emphasized that the decisions made this year aren't just about sustaining the Southwest and the economies the Colorado River has built.
"It's what brings us all together, and it can also be what tears us apart," Roerink said.