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By Kevin Wheeler, Timothy M. Magee, Terrance Fulp, and Edith Zagona.
Published in the Proceedings
of Natural Resources Law Center Allocating and Managing Water for a Sustainable
Future: Lessons From Around the World, Boulder, CO, 2002.
Abstract: The Colorado River has a long history of litigation
over a limited water supply. Projected increases in water consumption
and recognition of environmental needs will lead to further litigation
unless a consensus of interested parties can be reached. Recent developments
in computer modeling suggest a way of reaching such a consensus on sustainable
policies that could be transferred to other river basins. The United States
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has modeled the Colorado River within
a general modeling environment, RiverWare, developed at the Center for
Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES)
at the University of Colorado at Boulder under joint sponsorship by Reclamation
and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Colorado River model includes
the existing policy, frequently called the “Law of the River.” The
structure of RiverWare allows policies to be extended and modified easily
by model users. This flexibility in modeling alternative policies, combined
with graphical comparison of the results, has led to the evaluation of
a wide range of alternative policies by Reclamation, CADSWES, and several
environmental groups. Rapid comparison of policy alternatives has led
to generating improved alternatives that better balance the multiple uses
of the river. Recent studies include:
- Interim Surplus Guidelines for developing a strategy to decrease
California’s dependency on surplus Colorado River water;
- Secretarial
Implementation Agreement to analyze the effects of water transfers and
potential inadvertent overrun withdraws as proposed in California’s
Quantification Settlement Agreement and Reclamation’s Inadvertent
Overrun Policy;
- Multiple Species Conservation Program, designed to conserve
habitat and work toward the recovery of threatened and endangered species,
while accommodating future water and power development;
- The impact
on water users of alternative plans for supplying sustainable flows
to restore biodiversity in the Colorado River Delta; and
- The operation
of the Flaming Gorge Dam to simulate natural flow patterns and meet
minimum flow recommendations and consumptive use demands.
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