If the old Western saw about "whiskey's for drinking, water's for fighting" has any merit, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain appears to have chugged a whole bottle last week before he suggested reopening negotiations of the 1922 Colorado River Compact.

The compact protects the water rights of the "Upper Basin" states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming from the thirsty demands of the more rapidly growing "Lower Basin" states of California, Nevada and Arizona.

Upper Basin states, including Wyoming, don't want anybody messing with that.

"I was absolutely astonished that anyone running for president would suggest that," Gov. Dave Freudenthal said during a press conference at the Parkway Plaza Hotel and Convention Centre in Casper.

"Now, he's also from Arizona and the lower Colorado River basin states have wanted to reopen that compact for years," he said. "They have only one thing in mind when they say 'reopen,' and it isn't to give more water to the upper basin states. I'm just guessing, but that would be my (thought)."

On Friday, the Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain reported McCain's comments about the importance of water in the West.

"So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties," McCain said. "I think that there's a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, certainly adjust to the new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource.

"Conditions have changed dramatically, so I'm not saying that anyone would be forced to do anything because I'm a federalist and believe in the rights of states," he added. "But at the same time there's already been discussion amongst the states, and I believe that more discussion amongst the governors is probably something that everybody wants us to do."

McCain's suggestion, Freudenthal said, was similar to others about Arizona's interest in more water, which means less water for the Upper Basin states.

"This suggestion reflects that not everybody in the West necessarily shares Western values," he said.

The Compact, signed by the seven states in 1922, guarantees 7.5 million acre-feet of water to the Upper Basin states and 7.5 million acre-feet to the Lower Basin states. An acre-foot of water contains about 326,000 gallons, or enough water to supply two households for a year.

Wyoming has more than one million acres of water of the Colorado drainage that's undeveloped, Freudenthal said. "So I think its our water they have an eye on."

Wednesday, McCain wrote he's been misunderstood.

"My recent remarks may have been mistakenly construed as a call to rescind the Colorado River Compact and commence negotiations for new water allocations. Let me be clear that I do not advocate renegotiation of the Compact," McCain wrote to Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., in a letter obtained from his campaign office in Minneapolis.

"I understand the complexities of water policy, and under no circumstances would I move forward with Colorado River policies not supported by all the states involved," he wrote.

But Democratic Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he didn't buy the explanation during a conference call organized by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"The word 'renegotiate' does not have a double meaning," Ritter said.

Freudenthal said the negotiations for the 1922 compact were hard fought, as well as subsequent talks including an agreement signed last year about water allocations in response to the ongoing drought.

"It struck me as incredibly inappropriate, to suggest right after we've been through these negotiations - not to change the compact but come up with some procedures between the states for sharing the impact of the drought - for Sen. McCain to announce that we should renegotiate it," Freudenthal said.

"To some degree, we would better off with somebody who'd never heard of the Colorado River Compact than somebody who has a predisposition about reopening it to the benefit of the Lower (Basin) states," he said.

Contact Tom Morton at (307) 266-0616 or Tom.Morton@trib.com.