The impasse prompted federal intervention after governors of Colorado River states were summoned to Washington to break the deadlock over water usage. His work includes the Colorado River. Image Hoover Dam on the Colorado River Drought © iStock - ngc4565“We've known about ongoing droughts. “It's not the holistic, robust set of guidelines that puts the Colorado River Basin on a sustainable path or anything like that. The Colorado River Board of California did not respond to an immediate request for comment by The Center Square on the issue.