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 Support the show

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 Support the show

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 Support the show

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 Support the show

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? Support the show

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 Support the show

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 Support the show

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? Support the show

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 Support the show

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? Support the show

The kick the can legislature ·       Only 16 water bills this session ·       Like we need another study State should step up to complex and sensitive water issues ·       Dan Beard – saying it like it is ·       Our problems are immediate, but others are dire Support the show

Farm Box Farms – containerized farming Eric Gostenki, VP of Sales ·       Produce 250 containerized farms per year and growing ·       Experimenting both with crops and concepts Joaquin Gonzales, Director of Fodder ·       1 container produces as much cattle fodder as 30 acres of irrigated ground ·       Containerized fodder uses less than 5% of irrigated acreage Support the show

Happy until lawsuits filed ·       Abandonment of water rights ·       Potential expansion of use Prior appropriation provides path forward for dispute resolution ·       Times change farming practices and technology/manpower requirements ·       Society operates under reactive system ·       Only crisis prompts change Technical issues that affect water users ·       Free river water and how it is...

Meeting with Rob Graves at the Howling Cow Restaurant ·       Saving water – what is it and who can benefit? ·       Monitoring use of water is a problem Other questions about moving water ·       Water quality issues ·       Thornton and 1041 issues Elephant in the room ·       Buy and dry close in to the cities  ·       Only the three Ds will stop farmers: Debt, Death and Divorce Support the sho...

Bad omen for the Colorado water world Five things to consider ·       Stop discouraging buy and dry ·       Do away with HB 1041 ·       Pass bill to allow farmers to sell saved water ·       Resurrect Two Forks ·       Create a special zone for buy and dry Support the show

Tragedy of the commons ·       Referring to a public resource ·       Transaction costs are almost prohibitive Disincentive to saving water ·       Demand management in real time ·       Can’t fix what you don’t know Cities’ rights administered in a more lax manner Support the show

Martin Sarley, past river commissioner, Ian Ferrell, attorney ·       Importance of quantifying river conditions ·       Administer water per laws and court rulings As much an art form as a science ·       Different administrations depending on history and district ·       Goal to be same with real time data Support the show

More discussions with Evan Jeffries ·       Piping saves water simply by requiring less to transport ·       Leaving stubble from harvest keeps soil moisture higher History shows why most water is owned by farmers ·       Other issues affecting farmers ·       Farmers in CA & AZ benefited unfairly from Mead and Powelll Support the show

Experiences of Evan Jeffries in Evergreen and Otis ·       Running cows in a regenerative process ·       Manages and advises ranchers on water Some illegal water ponds protected for use for firefighting ·       60 identified in Jefferson County ·       $300k to $500k per AF on Bear Creek Support the show

Colorado River Basin talks with limited results ·       Six states agree ·       California holds out Lawsuits are inevitable ·       Time consuming ·       Indian tribes left out again Support the show

Bill Berg, Hydrogeologist with Marin and Wood Water Consultants ·       South Platte River augmentations more complicated than in San Luis Valley ·       Most augmentation plans used for out of priority wells Replacement source ·       Must match time, place and amount of depletion ·       Water wells create a drawdown cone within the aquifer Support the show

Relationship of water to economic output ·       Farming uses lots, contributes not so much ·       Cities use little, contribute a lot more Legislature waking up to water problem ·       Centerpiece of new legislation ·       Presentation of my solutions Support the show

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Comparing other uses to reduction of hay fields ·       Curbing Kim Kardashian’s use of water ·       Eliminating coal-fired power plants ·       Not even close to providing water to restoring Colorado River King Alfalfa is the real culprit ·       Consumes more than all cities in the Basin ·       $400 billion has been approved to buy, lease or loan water to the River Support the show