Article Addresses Current Colorado River Negotiations
Colorado River Basin
Bureau of Reclamation
In a recent article published in academic news outlet The Conversation, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal and co-author Colorado Water Center Director Karen Schlatter address the complex issues surrounding ongoing Colorado River negotiations. They provide a brief explanation of how negotiations have been orchestrated in the past, give an overview of the status of current negotiations, and theorize on possible paths forward depending on whether or not the federal Bureau of Reclamation proceeds with one of the five management alternatives listed in January 2026. The article’s introduction acknowledges how difficult this situation is to navigate, noting, “The five most common sources of conflict between people are values, data, relationships, interests and structure. The current Colorado River negotiations include all five.” Megdal was also recently interviewed on the topic of Colorado River negotiations on Arizona Public Media’s TV news program, The Press Room. Both the article and the news segment are freely accessible online.