Post on 23-Feb-2016
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Water Conservation, Efficiency, and Instream Flows in the West
Aaron CitronProject Manager & Attorney(303) 447-7212acitron@edf.org
Western Water Law 101
Prior Appropriation
• “first in time is first in right”
• Diversion (usually)
• Beneficial Use
• Use it or lose it
CRB Overview• Complex “Law of the River”
• Compacts, Caselaw, Treaty with Mexico (1922-2007)
• Colorado River legally over-allocated
• 16.5MAF v. +/- 13.5MAF
• 1 AF = 1,234 m3
Colorado River Supply and Demand Basin Study
2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 2055 20603,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
5,000,000
5,500,000
6,000,000Average Annual Total Upper Basin Depletions
Scenario A Scheduled Demands
Actual Depletions Before Compact Effects
Actual Depletions After Compact Effects
Acr
e-Fe
et
Recreation Economy
• $26 Billion• ¼ Million Jobs
SB 14-023: Water Efficiency Savings to Instream Flows
Opportunity
Incentives
1. No abandonment
2. New income stream.
3. Improved streamflows.
Opposition
• Costs to other irrigators
• Upstream juniors
• Instream flows
• Politics!
Conservation ≠ Savings
• Consumptive Use
• Prior Appropriation
• Efficiency v. Conservation?
Filling the Gap
• ATMs
• Water Banking
• System Conservation Agreement
Aaron Citronacitron@edf.org303-447-7212