LAS VEGAS ( FOX5 ) — The seven states that rely on the Colorado River for their water had until Tuesday to produce an agreement on future conservation efforts. Unfortunately, they missed that deadline.

More than 20 years of drought have taken a toll on the river. It’s estimated the Colorado loses more than a million acre-feet of water to evaporation each year.

Representatives from Arizona, Colorado, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have spent the past two years trying to reach an agreement on cuts without success. Interim guidelines for water use expire at the end of the year, and the Bureau of Reclamation is keen to see some sort of practical agreement quickly.

“They need to continue to negotiate. They need continued discussion. The Department of the Interior, which

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