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Plans to cut imperiled Colorado River water usage emerge

The Colorado River after it passes through the Glen Canyon Dam. The water will travel through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
The Colorado River after it passes through the Glen Canyon Dam. The water will travel through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)

The Department of the Interior has come up with two ideas that would lead to dramatic cuts on the Colorado River. One would divvy up the cuts evenly among states; the other would follow a legal priority system that would benefit the users with the longest-standing rights to the water. The federal government is trying to protect the country’s largest reservoirs from failing after 23 years of drought.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd reports from Phoenix.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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