Water, Climate and Uncertanity: An Introduction to the Issues, Language, Literature and the Conference Materials June 11-13 2003

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municipal water agencies, agricultural water districts, utilities, and the federal government— primarily the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers.10 The federal government also has major roles in implementing national environmental and water quality laws, overseeing tribal lands and water rights, marketing hydropower, and managing the public lands that cover roughly half of the West. Federal and state water law is often poorly coordinated and somewhat inconsistent, and is a nearly constant source of intergovernmental tension. Water shortages, whether climate- related or not, increasingly highlight these areas of conflict and uncertainty in the law, and draw attention to the politically delicate intergovernmental and jurisdictional arrangements that characterize the institutional environment. CONNECTING SCIENCE TO POLICY PULLING THE LEVERS It can be (and is) argued that the system of allocation and management of the West's water resources is both inflexible and flexible. Much of the inflexibility derives from the fact that many rivers were fully allocated (or "appropriated ") well over a century ago, and were apportioned using a strict priority system that has proven highly resistant to fundamental reform, although minor innovations are common." Whether prior appropriation is an "antiquated" system is the subject of intense debate, but it is undeniably a fixture in western water institutions. Somewhat analogous is the role of physical structures (dams and reservoirs) on western river systems, generally designed in previous eras to serve purposes, sectors and populations which may or may not best reflect current priorities. These same factors can also be sources of flexibility. Prior appropriation, for example, allows for the reallocation of water through water markets, a mechanism that is key to much of the urban growth that characterizes the modern West. In recent years, many institutional innovations have been geared at facilitating temporary transfers of water, a valuable approach to drought management and, more generally, risk management that allows cities to protect high - valued water uses while avoiding unnecessary dewatering of agriculture in normal years. Similarly, dams and reservoirs can also be a source of flexibility in water systems, through fundamental re- designation of project purposes to more subtle modifications of reservoir rule curves. The potential for change is vast, as the United States trails only China in the number of dams. 12 Over two- thirds of the national water storage capacity is found in the West, home to the nation's 10 largest dams. Still additional flexibility is, at least theoretically, available through demand management strategies, including conservation programs at both the municipal and agricultural scales. 13 Economic policies that influence water pricing, water system financing, subsidy programs, and the strength and availability of crop markets can all be particularly salient in influencing water demand. 10 They are, of course, important exceptions. In California, for example, the state plays an active role in water resource planning and development, as evidenced by the State Water Project. 11 The agenda of reformers is typically focused on broadening environmental protections, encouraging more economically responsible financing and pricing policies, and addressing equity issues between water allocation winners and losers. 12 Figures compiled for the World Commission on Dams indicates that the United States is home to approximately 6,575 dams at least 15 meters in size, second globally to China's 22,000, and well more than twice as many as the rest of North America, Central America and South America combined. 13 Several western states have per capita use figures nearly 3 times the national average. 11