As the Colorado River continues to shrink, two lawsuits are casting a harsher light on water use in the Rocky Mountain West — and on whether new large storage projects will still make sense in a hotter, drier future.
In Wyoming and Colorado, the legal fights could shape irrigation, public spending, and who ultimately bears the growing costs of drought.
Here’s what to know
After Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an Aug. 21 decision cutting supplies to California, Nevada, and Arizona while largely sparing Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, the state of Nevada sued to challenge it, WyoFile reported.
Separately, conservation groups have gone to court over Denver’s Gross Dam expansion, saying the city may be creating an “$819 million bathtub” without enough water to fill it…