Colorado River supply and demand study delayed, even as drought grips U.S.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is continuing to sift through 150 proposals designed to reduce demand, boost water supplies or invoke new management strategies for the Colorado River, with a final report now delayed until September.

One of the most comprehensive studies of what the future holds for the Southwest's premier river comes in the midst of the nation's most widespread drought since 1956 — with more than half the continental United States imperiled because of dry conditions.

How water supplies may be boosted or at least protected along the 1,400-mile river serving seven Western states and Mexico is a key component of the bureau's exhaustive study, launched in January and now in its final phases.

The report was originally expected to be released in July. But an update on the report's progress and what comes next was detailed Tuesday in a teleconference hosted by the agency, drawing more than 100 listeners.