This line from a paper a few years back by Edella Schlager and Tanya Heikkila may seem obvious, but in the context of current discussions over the future of Colorado River management, it bears repeating: A water allocation rule that allocates more water than is available in a river is not well matched to its …
Continue reading ‘Eating the Colorado River shortage elephant, one bite at a time’ »
I’m not positive, but I’m reasonably certain the guy with the bedroll in this picture is performing arbitrage. He was sleeping out the midday sun under the San Luis Bridge on the Sonora-Baja-Arizona border before I saw him pick up and head toward those bushes on the Colorado River’s east bank. Just beyond that array …
In December of 2002, an effort to sort out the problems of the Colorado River appeared as though it was about to blow up. California had long been living beyond its means (using more than the 4.4 million acre feet minimum guaranteed under the Law of the River). The deal would have given California time …
The Augustin Plains Ranch project, New Mexico’s version of a trend toward meeting urban needs in the west by pumping rural groundwater in to cities, is taking another whack at winning state approval after losing resoundingly two years ago: A for-profit group hoping to pump New Mexico groundwater to the Rio Grande Valley and sell …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I wrote elsewhere: moving groundwater in New Mexico’ »
tl;dr The 1922 Colorado River Compact was supposed to sidestep the “doctrine of prior appropriation”, assuring slow-developing Upper Colorado River Basin states that their fast-growing downstream neighbors wouldn’t lock up all the water. But while that may be true on paper, 21st century reality suggest “prior appropriation” is back. longer: Bret Walton’s Circle of Blue …
Continue reading ‘Prior appropriation: alive and well at the Colorado River basin scale?’ »
At this point it’s just a parlor game, but has Lake Mead broken through the old “lowest since they filled it” record yet or not? Regardless of the fractions of an inch involved, it’s a big deal. (Go to Circle of Blue for an explanation.) But the conversation this week has been a bit confused …
Continue reading ‘So did Lake Mead break the record yet or not?’ »
Smart words from Phil Isenberg, California’s water sage: [O]ur historic population and economic growth—and the social and individual choices we have made—explain the water and environmental problems we face today. Unless we acknowledge that water supplies are limited, and act to temper our water use, we will limp toward the next drought, and act surprised when …
Continue reading ‘Isenberg: Drought amplifies, not causes, water problems’ »
For the latest “Ask me a Colorado River question,” a friend of Inkstain wonders: Q: Can you move water from one Colorado River Basin state to another? A: No. OK, this is the Law of the River, so of course it’s more complicated than that, with numerous edge case exceptions, but basically, no, you can’t …
Continue reading ‘AMACRQ: Can you move Colorado River water from one state to another?’ »
You showed such promise, El Niño, but this is simply unacceptable: The chance of a strong El Niño is not favored in any of the ensemble averages for Niño-3.4. At this time, the forecasters anticipate El Niño will peak at weak-to-moderate strength during the late fall and early winter….