AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government’s retreat from a threatened deadline all combined to thwart a voluntary deal last summer on how to drastically cut water use from the parched Colorado River. That’s according to emails obtained by The Associated Press that largely cover communication among water officials in Arizona and California. The documents depict a desire to reach a consensus but persistent disagreement over how much each state could or should give. As a mid-August deadline approached and ultimately passed without a deal, one manager warned: “We’re all headed to a very dark place.” The states have since regrouped and are trying to reach a grand bargain by Tuesday. The alternative is having the federal government dictate cuts.