Congressman Paul Gosar, whose district includes part of Yuma, announced he is calling on the U.S. Department of the Interior to ensure Arizona receives what he describes as fair treatment in a new framework for managing the Colorado River.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Gosar said he argues that Arizona has already made significant water-use reductions and should not bear a disproportionate share of additional cuts.
Under the Interior Department’s proposed 2027 and 2028 operating guidelines, the Lower Basin would face an annual reduction of 1.25 million acre-feet, according to Gosar’s office. Arizona would be responsible for about 760,000 acre-feet of those reductions, compared with 440,000 acre-feet for California and 50,000 for Nevada.
Gosar says Arizona’s water needs have changed significantly since Congress authorized the Central Arizona Project in 1968. The state’s population has grown from about 1.7 million people to more than 7.6 million, while Arizona has also expanded its agricultural, semiconductor, aerospace and defense industries.
In his statement, Gosar said reliable water supplies are increasingly tied to the state’s economic and national-security interests.
He also argued that conservation alone cannot resolve the West’s long-term water challenges. Gosar is calling for additional investment in projects such as desalination, advanced water treatment, aquifer recharge, water storage and conveyance infrastructure.
Gosar founded the bipartisan Colorado River Caucus in 2020 and has held water-policy discussions with Arizona water officials, engineers, hydrologists and infrastructure experts, according to his office.
The Colorado River provides water to roughly 40 million people across the Southwest and supports major agricultural and industrial operations. States in the Colorado River Basin have been negotiating new rules for managing the river as prolonged drought and declining reservoir levels have increased pressure on the system.
Gosar says he plans to continue working with the Trump administration and the Interior Department on a long-term agreement.
“Arizona is not asking for special treatment,” Gosar said in a released statement. “We are asking for equal treatment and a fair share of the responsibility.”