By Eric Kuhn and John Fleck With the Colorado River’s “Drought Contingency Plans” now completed, basin water managers are turning to the question of what happens next. That question, as we see it, is: Is there a chance at a “grand bargain” that addresses the unresolved questions head on? Or can the problems continue to …
Continue reading ‘Is there a “Grand Bargain” to be had in the Colorado River Basin?’ »
The 2018 Lower Basin accounting report is out, and if you’re interested in understanding what’s happening on the Colorado River, it’s a gold mine. Did you know, for example, that California’s annual Colorado River water use is down 21 percent from its peak in 2002? Or that the Gila Monster Farms on the Arizona side …
Continue reading ‘Final Lower Colorado River accounting for 2018’ »
From a fun Q & A I did recently with Tara Lohan at The Revelator: One of the biggest difficulties is figuring out who gets to participate — who’s in the room when these deals are negotiated. And it’s just not at all clear what the process is going to look like for renegotiating guidelines. …
Continue reading ‘In the next round of Colorado River negotiations, who will be at the table?’ »
A guest post by historian Sara Porterfield: “May 24, 1869—The good people of Green River City turn out to see us start. We raise our little flag, push the boats from shore, and the swift current carries us down.” Today marks the 150th anniversary of John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado …
Continue reading ‘John Wesley Powell at 150: How Can We Tell Better Stories?’ »
Correction appended, I was off by 5kaf on the Nevada numbers With the backdrop of Hoover Dam, an assembly of Colorado River dignitaries signed the Drought Contingency plan yesterday afternoon. Done really is done. The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan or DCP is now official. pic.twitter.com/35PhTojepU — Jeffrey Kightlinger (@8thGenCA) May 21, 2019 Now that …
Continue reading ‘What the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan means in practice’ »
In the wake of Arizona’s difficulties in coming to terms with the future of central Arizona agriculture as it sorted out its approach to reducing Colorado River water use under the Drought Contingency Plan, the latest Census of Agriculture data is fascinating. The decline continues, but only just barely. The data within this data, broken …
Continue reading ‘Central Arizona ag’s decline continues, but Pinal County is up’ »
From the inbox:
It’s important to be clear of what we mean by “waste” when we talk about “wasting” water. Because it’s always going someplace, and doing something. In Albuquerque, for example, we talk about reusing effluent from our sewage treatment plant. But we currently treat that water and put it back in the Rio Grande, where it …
Continue reading ‘The Ciénega de Santa Clara and the question of “waste”’ »
A cryptic item in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the San Diego Water Authority Board suggests the agency may still harbor an interest in having its own canal to the Colorado River, separate from the current system through which it gets its Colorado River water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. alternative …
Continue reading ‘Is San Diego reviving the idea of building its own Colorado River Aqueduct?’ »
We have a publication date and a web site and an Amazon listing for Science Be Dammed, the new book by Eric Kuhn and myself about the use and misuse of science in the development of the Colorado River. And a cover. The book has a cover: