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Via CalMatters, commentary on how the recent Colorado River deal forever changes the price of water in the West: For the first time in this drought-stricken century, a new price for water has been set under the new Colorado River pact. This agreement is the start of the end of agriculture as we know it […]
Read more »Via Pro Publica, a report on how Arizona – as it negotiates water rights with tribes – goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development: The Dilkon Medical Center, a sprawling, $128 million facility on the Navajo Nation in Arizona, was completed a year ago. With an […]
Read more »Via Boulder Reporting Lab, an article on how some cities and towns are pursuing solutions to future Colorado River shortages, on their own: This winter dropped a lot of snow on the mountains above Boulder. Our reservoirs are in good shape for now as Boulder Creek babbles. But that’s not our only water source. Boulder […]
Read more »Via NPR, an interesting 3-minute segment examining the water agreements the government is making with Native American tribes: The U.S. federal government has now spent more than $8.5 billion on water rights settlements with Native American tribes. Tribes have to give up a lot in return, and hundreds more have yet to settle.
Read more »Courtesy of Inside Climate News, a look at a bill moving through the Texas Legislature that would create a new fund for desalination, beneficial reuse of produced water and inter-state water purchases: Texas legislators are poised to recommend designating billions of dollars in public funds for controversial water purification technologies, including marine desalination and oilfield wastewater […]
Read more »Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a report on some of the innovative financial mechanisms – specifically conservation easements – being used to help conserve depleted groundwater in the U.S. west: The San Luis Valley, a high desert farming region in southern Colorado, is a land of daunting natural constraints, especially its scarce water reserves. Pragmatic […]
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