The long-running and bitter conflict over Southern California’s overuse of water from the Colorado River may be nearing an end as officials from seven states today present a compromise deal to Interior Department officials. Under the plan, California would agree to put conservation measures in place and reduce its consumption of river water over the next 15 years. For years Californians have slurped up more than their legal share from the Colorado, and this issue has become more contentious as Arizona and Nevada, with their growing populations, have come closer to using their entire allotments. The Interior Department will now review the deal, and state officials are optimistic that the feds will sign off on it.
