Nevada became the first state to sue over new Colorado River operating rules, filing suit in federal court Monday alongside the Colorado River Commission of Nevada and the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
The lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of the Interior challenges the record of decision released Friday, which governs how Colorado River water is divided among the seven basin states.
Under the decision, Nevada’s 300,000-acre-foot allocation could be cut by up to 213,556 acre-feet, leaving Las Vegas and surrounding cities with less than 86,500 acre-feet a year. An acre-foot is…about 326,000 gallons, or enough to supply roughly two to three households for a year; state water officials say there’s no way to meet Southern Nevada’s basic needs with the volume of water Interior has proposed.
