Showdown in the American west as Colorado River faces crucial deadline: ‘Mother nature isn’t going to bail us out’

Seven states must make deal for sharing basin that supplies 40 million people, before US government steps in. With negotiations at an impasse, what’s at stake?The future of the American west hangs in the balance this week, as seven states remained at a stalemate over who should bear the brunt of the enormous water cuts needed to pull the imperiled Colorado River back from the brink. Time is running short to reach a deal before a critical deadline, set for Saturday.In the region where water has long been the source of survival and conflict, the challenges hindering consensus are as steep as the stakes are high.