Top California negotiator on federal proposal to manage Colorado River water

NPR | By Danielle Kurtzleben ,

Henry Larson, Michael Levitt

Published August 22, 2026 at 4:21 PM CDT

Western states have long disputed how to split the Colorado River's water. JB Hamby, California's top negotiator, weighs in on the new federal proposal to manage the resource.

NPR News

Danielle Kurtzleben

Danielle Kurtzleben is a White House correspondent on NPR's Washington Desk. She appears regularly on the NPR Politics Podcast and other NPR shows.

See stories by Danielle Kurtzleben

Henry Larson

Michael Levitt

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