Why It Matters
Wyoming water users face mandatory, uncompensated cuts to water rights dating back to the 1800s as the Colorado River Basin experiences its warmest winter on record combined with historically low snowpack. Junior water rights holders — including some southwestern Wyoming municipalities and industrial facilities like trona mines — will be ordered to shut off water supplies first under state law.
The crisis affects 40 million people across seven western states and Mexico who depend on the Colorado River system.
What Happened
Gov. Mark Gordon joined governors from Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico on Thursday to announce that a significant additional water release from Flaming Gorge Reservoir is imminent. The four governors represent Upper Colorado River Division states that share the reservoir system.
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart confirmed that water supply will fall short of existing legal commitments. State law requires regulators to cut off junior water rights holders to satisfy senior rights holders during shortages.
The Bureau of Reclamation is considering an extra release of 660,000 to 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge to maintain operational levels at Lake Powell and meet legal obligations to downstream states Arizona, California, and Nevada. The release is expected to begin May 1 or sooner.
By the Numbers
• 40 million people across seven states and Mexico rely on the Colorado River
• 660,000 to 1 million acre-feet may be released from Flaming Gorge
• 3.8 million acre-feet is the total storage capacity of Flaming Gorge Reservoir
• Water rights dating to the 1880s will be protected while newer rights face cuts
• Warmest winter on record in the Colorado River Basin
Zoom Out
The Colorado River Basin stretches across the Mountain West, with Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico forming the upper basin states. These headwater states generate the snowmelt that feeds the river system, but cannot control precipitation levels or runoff volumes.
The mandatory cuts reflect state water law across the West, where rights operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Senior rights holders — often agricultural operations with claims established in the 1800s — maintain priority during shortages. More recent users, including some cities and industrial operations, lose access first.
What’s Next
Federal officials are expected to announce specific release volumes and timing by the end of April. Wyoming regulators will then enforce water rights priority, ordering junior users to cease diversions when senior rights holders make formal calls on limited supplies.
State Engineer Gebhart emphasized that cuts result from senior Wyoming water rights holders making legal claims to available water, not from downstream demand pressures from lower basin states.
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