WSP06317 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

June 1996 3D3005 COLORADO WATER . Pennilting water banking and marketing between states, so long as no other states were hanned thereby, Changes in intrastate \\later allocation and management were more effective in mitigating drought damages than were those changes in the Law of the River which were analyzed. In particular, transferring water ITom low-valued agricultural uses to higher-valued municipal and industrial uses shows considerable promise, Such reallocations did occur in the recent California drought and have been long observed in Colorado. Reducing agricultural wa(er use during drought could also partially sustain nonconsumprive uses. . .Studies showed that the gains from managing system reservoirs to maintain hydropower production would outweigh concomitant consumptive water use damages if those damages were suffered only by agriculture. Shorting consumptive uses is most effective if concentrated in the Upper Basin because more downstream nonconsumptive uses can benefit. Measures that redistribute shorlages away from the Upper Basin for reasons of increased equity would increase the system.wide damages from the drought. Despite the mostly temporary extirpations. there was a net improvement in conditions for the four threatened and endangered species whenever the operating rules were interpreted to include invoking the Endangered Species Act to modify reservoir release rules and protect these species whenever it appeared to be necessary. To do so. of course, caused some reduction in water deliveries for offstream consumptive uses to the Upper Basin, ;0 I} INSTITUTIONS FOR CHANGING OPERATING RULES The kinds of changes in the Law of the River which were explored can be accomplished in several differeni" ways. as is shown by the history of the Law's evolution, Interstate Negotiation--This is how the (\'10 interstate compacts (Upper and Lower Basins) were fonnulated, . Federal Legislation-This is how the major reservoirs were constructed and how the 1922 Upper Basin-Lower Basin apportionment was originally put into effect. Judicial Decision--Represented by thc far-reaching 1968 decree in Arizona v. California. Administrative Rule-making--Represented by the promulgation of the Interior Secretary's operating criteria for Hoover and Glen Canyon dams, The gaming experiment placed players (who were research team members) acting as representatives of the seven basin states and the federal government in three collective choice situations where they were required to agree upon changes in the Law of the River in order to mitigate drought impacts, Each of these situations was governed by rules which were variants of the interstate negotiation model. The participants achieved only minor rule changes, and even less substantial mitigation results, perhaps due to perceived restrictions in the scope of their responsibilities and (0 information deficiencies. They were most successful when permined to engage in bilateral water banking and water marketing transactions, Their greatest achievements in reducing drought damages resulted from the intrastate water management changes which they were able to make independently, IMPLICA nONS NONCONSUMPTlVE WATER USES ARE HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO DROUGHT Nonconsumptive uses are far more vulnerable to drought than are consumptive water uses, at least when the system is managed pursuant to current rules or pursuant to the variants on those rules, Existing operating rules and those changes which were examined favor consumptive water uses over such nonconsumptive uses as hydroelectric power generation, environmental protection. salinity control and recreation. Both absolute and relative declines in the monetary values of nonconsumptive water uses are far greater than is true for consumptive uses, taken as a whole. CONSUMPTIVE WATER USES ARE WELL-PROTECTED FROM DROUGHT The severe sustained drought does produce damages or losses to consumptive water users (fanners. industries and c municipalities), even if only in the Upper Basin, and there only for a few years. A substantial'drop in water deliveries to consumptive uses occurred when the drought was at its worst However, when states managed their intrastate waters efficiently, the drop in monetary benefits was much smaller, in relative terms, than was the shortage which produced that drop, DROUGHT RISK IS GREATEST IN THE UPPER BASIN, BUT IN NORMAL YEARS SUPPLIES ARE ABUNDANT The 1922 Colorado River Compact essentially gives the Lower Basin states seniority in claiming the first 7.5 maf of Colorado River flows, although it is often held that half of the delivery obligation to Mexico m6s.come out of that allotment. This Lower Basin priority effectively transfers all of the drought risk to the Upper Basin. Current Upper Basin depletions amount to over four million acre-feet annually (including present perfected rights). Therefore, at the present