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, EFFICIENT WATER USE IN THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN: OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPLICATIONS Jim Dyer Prepared for discussion purposes for the Colorado River Workshop. The paper is the work of the individual author and does not represent the opinion of Grand Canyon Trust or the Bureau of Reclamation. SUMMARY ABSTRACT With the many interests competing for Colorado River water today, making more efficient use of that water is an obvi- ous place to look for relief The technologies and often-overlooked management know-how to wring much more use out of each drop of the Colorado already exist and can help turn this competition into collaboration between water use sec- tors. But important questions arise. Who will pay? What are the social implications of aggressive marketing of saved water? What are the opportunities for collaboration between cities and agriculture? What is the future of agriculture in the Colorado River Basin? Does the environment win or lose? What are the limits of efficiency? How might climate change affect the picture? Looking to the future of the Colorado River, efficiency is essential, but so is a whole-system view and the institutional ability to allow all stakeholders to consider the economic, environmental, and social impli- cations of these measures over the long term. Changes will happen. The question is whether they will be smooth tran- sitions or result in unnecessary social, economic, and environmental disruptions. Foresight and a will to guide these changes gracefully toward a desired future are essential. INTRODUCTION USERS' GUIDE TO THIS PAPER This paper is designed to provide some background and suggest some discussion points for the Grand Canyon Trust's stakeholder workshop under their cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation. That workshop is to provide the Bureau with stakeholder views on the water resource issues in JIM DYER presently is a consultant in water, sustainable agriculture and environmental issues. 360 County Road 118 Carbondale, CO 81623 the basin for the next few decades. No attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive background, but rather the views of a generalist attempting to look at the big picture with particular attention to the processes involved in addressing the issues raised. Some opinions may have snuck in as well N the reader may not agree with them, but hopefully they will stim- ulate discussion. Workshop participants have many resources available - extensive literature and the com- bined wealth of knowledge of the workshop attendees themselves. The references at the end of this paper are primarily those familiar to the author that provide details on points made in this particular paper - a comprehensive listing of sources is impractical here. 83