Members of the Colorado River Water Users Association are focused on the next century of water use at their annual gathering this week in Las Vegas.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who is scheduled to speak at the conference Friday, says meeting the challenges of the next century is something the states can achieve.

As climate change reduces Rocky Mountain snowpack and the Colorado River, states in the Upper and Lower Basins have struggled to stay ahead of the problem.

Arizona has already taken cuts from its share of the water, and Kelly said the state can't bear the burden of water conservation alone.

He said in the short term, both upper and lower states must continue to find ways to conserve water in order to keep the system intact.

“So we just have to be able to make do with less, and what that means is all these states coming together, to come to an agreement where they’re going to conserve more water. And you know we’re good at solving hard engineering problems. We’re going to solve this one," Kelly said. 

He says that in the long term, solutions could include desalination, cloud seeding and moving water from another watershed.

Kelly said that although federal intervention is possible, it would be best for the states to work out an agreement.

"Ideally the solution to this problem, you know, would come from the Upper and Lower Basin states, and from Mexico, all working together," he said. 

Kelly says that funding in recent infrastructure legislation includes money that will help states and tribes conserve more water.