What the Colorado River water use agreement will mean for western states

William Brangham:

Geoff, the Colorado River has been profoundly affected by a historic megadrought. That's meant that Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the huge reservoirs fed by the river, could drop so low, it could endanger water supplies for agriculture, as well as for cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix.

This new deal puts those risks on hold for now. California, Arizona and Nevada will agree to take less water from the river. In exchange, the federal government will pay a billion dollars to key players in those states.

To help us understand what this all will mean, we're joined by Luke Runyon of KUNC Public Radio in Colorado. He also hosts the podcast called "Thirst Gap."

Luke, thank you so much for being here.

Could you just tell us a little bit, what are the contours of this deal? What did these states agree to?

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