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Plans to cut imperiled Colorado River water usage emerge

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The Colorado River after it passes through the Glen Canyon Dam. The water will travel through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)
The Colorado River after it passes through the Glen Canyon Dam. The water will travel through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)

The Department of the Interior has come up with two ideas that would lead to dramatic cuts on the Colorado River. One would divvy up the cuts evenly among states; the other would follow a legal priority system that would benefit the users with the longest-standing rights to the water. The federal government is trying to protect the country's largest reservoirs from failing after 23 years of drought.

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd reports from Phoenix.

This segment aired on April 12, 2023.

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Peter O'Dowd Senior Editor, Here & Now
Peter O’Dowd has a hand in most parts of Here & Now — producing and overseeing segments, reporting stories and occasionally filling in as host. He came to Boston from KJZZ in Phoenix.

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