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Romancing the River: The Appropriation Doctrine – and Its Appropriation
February 10th, 2024
Via Sibley’s Rivers, commentary on the Colorado River Compact and the appropriation doctrine: ‘The single biggest roadblock to solving the problem of stabilizing the river is the priority system.’ – Tom Buschatzke, Director of Arizona’s ? Department of Water Resource Last post, I laid out some reasons why the water mavens now engaged in mapping […]
Read more »Brazil-Bolivia Dam Reignites Debates on Hydropower in the Amazon
February 3rd, 2024
Via Diálogo Chino, a look at how communities have pushed back on a proposed Ribeirão dam, a joint initiative by Brazil and Bolivia on the Madeira River, decrying dams’ impacts and seeking alternatives in solar: On a hot August day in the city of Guajará-Mirim, in Brazil’s Rondônia state, more than 140 people packed into a […]
Read more »Agriculture Built These U.S. High Plains Towns, But Now It Might Run Them Dry
January 30th, 2024
Via Stateline, an article on efforts by rural midwestern towns to keep their sole water source – the Ogalla Aquifer – intact: Brownie Wilson pulls off a remote dirt road right through a steep ditch and onto a farmer’s field. He hops out of his white Silverado pickup, mud covering nearly all of it except […]
Read more »Supreme Court to Resolve Decade-Old Rio Grande Water Dispute
January 26th, 2024
Via Bloomberg Law, an article on the U.S. Supreme Court agreement to resolve a decade-old Rio Grande water dispute: ‘Original jurisdiction’ case involves 1930’s Rio Grande Compact US opposes settlement between Colorado, New Mexico, Texas The US Supreme Court has agreed to resolve a water dispute involving the Rio Grande River that’s been pending at […]
Read more »Aridity Could Dry Up Southwestern Mine Proposals
January 23rd, 2024
Via Inside Climate News, a look at how – while critical minerals for the clean energy transition are abundant in the Southwest – dozens of mines proposed to access them will require vast sums of water, something in short supply in the desert: One by one, leaders from across Arizona gave speeches touting the importance […]
Read more »Are We Headed for the First Colorado River Compact Tripwire?
January 21st, 2024
Via JFleck at Inkstain, commentary on whether the U.S. southwest is headed for the first Colorado River Compact tripwire? The Bureau of Reclamation’s January 2024 “Most Probable” 24-month study forecasts that annual releases from Glen Canyon Dam for both Water Years 2025 and 2026 will be 7.48 million acre-feet per year (maf). If this happens, the ten-year […]
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