Dorany Pineda.

A group of environmental advocates earlier this year sent a petition to the federal government with a simple, seemingly obvious message: Ensure that water from the imperiled Colorado River is only being delivered for reasonable and beneficial uses. The petition calls on the Bureau of Reclamation to curb wasteful use in agriculture, which receives the largest amount of water, in an effort to address the river’s serious water shortages caused by overuse, drought and rising temperatures. But the agency doesn’t clearly define what reasonable and beneficial use means, and farmers argue any water delivered to grow food is inherently beneficial. Some worry that water cuts or withholdings could trigger food shortages and bring economic hardship.