Water Rights: Laws, Guns, & Money

Risks beyond diminishing the supply of water
·       Remaining water unsafe or undrinkable
·       Saltwater intrusion
Subsidence
·       Cracks in the earth
·       Moving an entire city because it is sinking

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Great report from the New York Times
·       Reflecting from 1800 to 1950
·       Endless bounty of all resources
Rain and snow
·       Rain refills aquifers in east
·       Snowmelt feeds western rivers
Thirsty farms and growing urban areas tap aquifers
·       Overused and under regulated
·       Overuse causes subsidence which reduces aquifer capacity

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Points of Agreement
·       Current operations not working
·       Next set of rules should be interim
Where they disagree
·       Upper Basin says Lower Basin exceeding allocations
·       Lower Basin wants to include all upstream reservoirs

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Strange things happen
·       Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
·       Imperial Irrigation District
Role reversals
·       Jeffrey Kightlinger now advising Imperial
·       Imperial suddenly in mood to collaborate rather than demand

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Kickbacks or other forms of favors
·       Not at State employee level
·       Maybe elected officials
Such a sweet deal given to Fondomonte
·       Low price on land rental
·       All the water you can possibly use for free
Public employees encourage monitoring water use
·       Nixed or ignored at the elected level
·       Does this stink to you?

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A British newspaper reports on our drought
·       Alfalfa is king
·       Powell and Mead have risen to 36% of capacity from 28%
Our country is disconnected from food supply
·       Forage crops can be converted to save water
·       Farmers love alfalfa: it’s reliable with a steady demand
Need for alternatives
·       Rotational crops
·       Possibly hydroponics

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Jennifer Gimbel
·       Extensive and impressive experience
·       Shares thoughts and ideas
Discussion of Five Ideas
·       Easier processes for farmers to sell saved water
·       1041 Regulations impacts and benefits to local citizens
·       Strong agreement on Two Forks Reservoir
·       Stop discouraging buy and dry
·       Create special zones for buy and dry

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Ocean desalination plant being discussed
·       Where’s the ocean?
·       Straw into the northern tip of the Gulf of Mexico
Environmental and economic constraints
·       $5 billion is a low-ball estimate
·       Pipelines to cross national park and environmentally sensitive areas
Would you bet on this project?

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Arizona Big Media
·       Blatantly touting a vast resource of water in Arizona
·       Hub of data center and semiconductor plants
Arizona officials waking up
·       No more housing developments in Phoenix proper
·       Some rural areas passing much needed groundwater laws

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Leprino cheese factory in Greeley, Colorado
·       About 1000 AF a year of milk
·       Mile is 87% water
Is that water state water or private water?
·       Is this similar to diverted water that is not consumed?
·       What if milk sent out of state?

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