How the feds say Colorado River water should be managed

For months and years, the seven states that share water from the dwindling Colorado River have been locked in negotiations about how to conserve it. But in the continued absence of a deal, the federal government is presenting its own plan.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s proposal doesn’t require mandatory water use cuts for Utah and other Upper Basin states, but could for the downstream states that have long insisted they’re on the shallow side of the agreement.

In this weekend’s Dispatch we sift through what we know about the feds’ proposal for the Colorado River and bring your our top stories of the week, including fears for the Utahns who could lose their Medicaid health coverage and how the Beehive State became a finalist for a new nuclear energy operation.

“I would just simply say, this is a bridge, not a destination.” — Gene Shawcroft, Utah’s chief Colorado River negotiator, following the release of the Bureau of Reclamation’s proposal for the states sharing the river.