Click the link to read the article on the KJZZ webdsite (Howard Fischer). Here’s an excerpt:
February 4, 2026
Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday that unless Upper Basin states actually offer up some firm commitments to conserve water she won’t agree to any deal for Arizona to cut its own withdrawals from the Colorado River. And that would lead to either Interior Secretary Doug Burgum imposing his own solution on the seven states that draw water from the river — or the situation having to be hashed out in court. Only thing is, Burgum has so far refused to do more than bring the governors of the affect states together, as he did on Friday. And Terry Goddard, president of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, which oversees the state’s Colorado River supply, said the options put forward by the Interior Department “are not palatable to Arizona or California,” one of the two other Lower Basin states.
“All Burgum’s done is set us up for litigation,” he told Capitol Media Services. “And I think that’s sad.”
Still, [Governor Hobbs] said she thinks it doesn’t necessarily have to wind up in court, even though Arizona already has set aside $3 million for litigation.
“While we didn’t leave with a lot of specifics — the details are to be worked out through negotiation — I think that we came away with hearing that nobody wants to end up in litigation,” Hobbs said. “We want to find a way to get to a deal.”
But Hobbs said that means recognizing that Arizona, which already has agreed to give up 27% of the water it has been getting from the Colorado River, won’t give up a drop more unless there are firm and enforceable promises that the Upper Basin states will share in the burden.
