WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will continue to live with less water from the Colorado River next year after the U.S. government announced water cuts Thursday designed to maintain the status quo, posing long-term challenges for the 40 million people who depend on the imperiled river.

The 1,450-mile-long river is a lifeline for the Western United States and also supplies water to cities and farms in northern Mexico. It supplies seven Western states, more than two dozen Native American tribes, and irrigates millions of acres of farmland in the American West. It also generates hydroelectric power used throughout the region.

Years of overuse combined with rising temperatures and drought have resulted in less water flowing in the Colorado today than in past decades.

The Interior Department announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so cities, farmers and others can plan. Officials do so based on the water level of Lake Mead, one of the river’s two main reservoirs, which serves as a barometer of its health.

Based on these figures, Arizona will again lose 18 percent of its total water from the Colorado River, while Mexico will get 5 percent less. The cut for Nevada – which receives far less water than Arizona, California or Mexico – will remain at 7 percent.

The cuts announced Thursday fall into the same “Tier 1” category that was in effect this year and in 2022, when the first federal cuts to the Colorado River went into effect, deepening the river’s crisis. Even deeper cuts followed in 2023. Arizona farmers were hit hardest by those cuts.

Heavier rainfall and further water conservation measures in Arizona, California and Nevada have somewhat improved the near-term outlook for Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which lies upstream of Mead on the Utah-Arizona border.

On Thursday, officials said the capacity of the two reservoirs had fallen to 37 percent.

They praised ongoing efforts by Arizona, California and Nevada to conserve more water, which are in effect through 2026. The federal government pays water users in those states for much of those savings. In the meantime, states, tribes and others are negotiating how they will share water from the river after 2026, when many of the river’s current policies expire.

Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the state’s lead negotiator in those talks, said Thursday that Arizonans have “committed to incredible savings … to protect the Colorado River system.”

“Future conditions,” he added, “are likely to continue to force difficult decisions.”

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Associated Press reporter Amy Taxin contributed from Santa Ana, California.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for its coverage of water and environmental policy. All content is solely the responsibility of the AP. For all AP environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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