Opinion: Why California leaders may regret playing hardball in negotiations over the Colorado River [Opinion]
of the San Diego County Water Authority. They say that because of federal laws and court rules interpreting them, California has “senior water rights” that must be honored in the allocation of the river’s supplies.
But will these rights thwart an emergency intervention by the U.S. Interior Department that could cite asaying the agency can step in if there are shortages? That’s a gamble California might not want to take. If the Biden administration has to weigh in, it seems more likely to pick the six states over one. Siding with swing state voters in Las Vegas and Phoenix over farmers in safely blue California would seem political to some — and the humane thing to do by others.
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