The Brawl Over the Colorado River Is About More Than Water

Western states are brawling over the future of the Colorado River — with President Donald Trump looming in the background.

Talks kicking off Tuesday in Las Vegas will help determine whether the Trump administration has to step in and take the political heat of deciding how to divide the shrinking river’s water supplies among powerful industries and more than 40 million people — a fight that includes the swing states of Arizona and Nevada, politically influential farmers and ranchers, and burgeoning semiconductor and artificial intelligence companies.