Water Policy

Leaders of environmental groups are issuing fresh warnings this week about the impacts the ongoing gridlock could have in the river basin.

On the eve of the high-stakes summit, negotiators from both the upper and lower river basins are not sounding confident they can reach an agreement with less than three weeks to go before a Feb. 14 deadline.

Four days of negotiations in a Salt Lake City conference room earlier this month did not appear to have sparked a breakthrough.

Steamboat Springs author and adventurer Eugene Buchanan has lived near the banks of the Yampa River long enough to notice it's rhythms and moods are often mirrored by the residents in his northwest Colorado ski town.

The proposals range from taking "no action" to a scenario that might result in water cuts to the lower basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. One alternative developed in partnership with conservation groups would incentivize states and water users to proactively conserve the river.