PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state's top water leaders held a press conference on Thursday on the heels of the historic Colorado River conservation plan submitted by Arizona, Nevada and California on Monday.
The plan, which now awaits approval from the Department of the Interior, revolves around voluntary conservation efforts rather than the mandated cuts floated by federal officials.
"No Arizonan will be forced to reduce their water use," Hobbs said during the conference.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Arizona: Colorado River plan a 'short-term' solution
Watch the entire livestream of the press conference here:
The voluntary nature of the proposal makes estimating exactly how much water the state will cut to be difficult, according to Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke.
The plan stated an estimated three million acre-feet of water would be conserved over the next three years, an estimate that falls short of the immediate across-the-board water cut of two to four million acre-feet federal officials have previously said is needed to avert catastrophe on the river.
"We're probably on target to cut around 1.8 million acre-feet or so," Buschatzke said. "Next year, we expect Arizona to take, on top of that, 512,000 acre-feet of cuts. We're still going to do a lot of the heavy lifting."
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