05/18/2026 Who Gets the Water? The Future of the Colorado River Compact

To better understand the high-stakes negotiations over the future of the Colorado River, you’ll want to listen to this episode featuring three leading water experts. They trace the history and significance of the Colorado River Compact, the landmark 1922 agreement that governs how water is shared among seven Western states.

With the current operating rules set to expire in October, negotiators face mounting pressure to reach a new agreement on how to allocate an increasingly scarce resource. The stakes could hardly be higher: this year’s snowpack and runoff are among the lowest on record. Our guests also discuss how ongoing shortages may affect the San Juan–Chama Project, which supplies water to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, noting that drought conditions on the Rio Grande are even more severe than those in the Colorado River basin.