Five out of seven Colorado River basin states are failing to maximize a critical resource that could help alleviate the region’s longstanding water crisis, a new report found.

Across all the states, just 26 percent of treated municipal wastewater is being reused, according to the research, released by the University of California Los Angeles, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Arizona and Nevada, which both recycle more than half of their wastewater, stand out among the other five — California, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming — all of which reuse less than a quarter of their wastewater, the report determined.

"We're facing a hotter, drier future and we need to pursue water recycling aggressively if we're going to ensure a sustainable, resilient water supply for the Colorado Basin,” co-author Noah Garrison, a water researcher at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, said in a statement.

“Even recycling 40% of our wastewater could make a dramatic difference, and we have two states already above 50% showing this is an entirely feasible solution,” Garrison added.

The 1,450-mile Colorado River provides drinking water and agricultural irrigation to about 40 million people across seven U.S.........

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