"States Reach Historic Agreement to Conserve Colorado River Water Amid Drought"

California, Arizona, and Nevada have agreed to conserve at least 3 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River over the next few years, or an average of about 1 million acre-feet per year, to prevent the river system from collapsing. The federal government appears willing to pay water users a total of roughly $1.2 billion in exchange for much of those cutbacks. However, experts say that this deal is not nearly enough to save the river, and steeper cuts are likely on the horizon. The Colorado River has been vanishing due to mismanagement and climate change, and it is a crucial source of water and electricity for Western states and irrigates several million acres of farmland.