SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Federal officials said Wednesday that conditions have improved on the Colorado River to the point that a plan by California, Arizona and Nevada to voluntarily reduce water use should help keep the river basin on stable footing for the next few years. The states failed to reach a consensus on cuts, and the federal government did not end up forcing any. The threat of those two options finally forced the three states to reach their own voluntary plan for how to reduce their use of the river's water. Already, the three states have lowered their water use, said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the state’s representative on Colorado River issues. Now, the states can turn their attention to a new long-term agreement for how to share the river’s water beyond 2026.

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Persons: Lake Mead, Tommy Beaudreau, Camille Touton, Biden, JB Hamby, ” Hamby, Hamby, Tom Buschatzke, ”, __, Suman Naishadham, Ken Ritter Organizations: —, U.S . Department of, U.S . Bureau of Reclamation, Colorado River Board of California, Imperial Irrigation District, Arizona Department of Water Resources, Associated Press Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, Colorado, California , Arizona, Nevada, Lake Powell, Mexico, Arizona , California, California, Arizona, Santa Ana , California, Washington, Las Vegas