Arizona and Nevada will feel the brunt of the pain under a federal plan to reduce stress on the Colorado River. The seven basin states — Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico in the upper basin and California, Arizona and Nevada in the lower basin — have been unable to reach a consensus, leading the feds to step in. The government’s strategy imposes no mandatory water cuts on the Upper Basin states, while accepting a deal that the Lower Basin states previously made to reduce usage by 3.2 million acre-feet by 2028. It’s absurd that the Upper Basin states get off untouched. The federal plan essentially renders futile any further negotiations between the Upper and Lower Basin states.