While Western states fight tooth-and-nail over the shrinking the Colorado River, Arizona has let water flow freely — in part to feed cows in Saudi Arabia

• Western states that rely on the shrinking Colorado River have struggled for years to agree to cuts.
• Arizona was among the states that came to an agreement in May and has asked residents to cut back.
• The Washington Post found Arizona has let a Saudi firm pump water unchecked for years.

For years Western states have struggled to come to an agreement on how to preserve water from the shrinking Colorado River. But since 2015, Arizona has let a Saudi Arabian firm use water largely unchecked.