Crisis on the Colorado River: From Short-Term Solutions to Long-Term Sustainability
Thursday, June 8 and Friday, June 9, 2023
Hosted by the Getches-Wilkinson Center and Water & Tribes Initiative
The Colorado River is in crisis. Rapid declines in reservoir storage now threaten many longstanding agreements and operational norms, triggering curtailments in water deliveries and prompting emergency interstate and federal/interstate negotiations.
The challenge is two-fold: adopting rules to equitably 鈥渟hare the pain鈥� in the short-term, while transitioning to a management framework to support long-term sustainability in what will likely be an increasingly arid future. It is both a water and a 鈥減eople鈥� problem, requiring innovations for stretching limited supplies through processes emphasizing equity and inclusion across all values, stakeholders, and sovereigns, including the United States, Mexico, Tribes, and the seven basin states.
Thursday, June 8
Part 1
- 00:00 Welcome and Introduction
- 19:13 Understanding the Challenges (and Opportunities)
- 2:00:40 Current Negotiations and the NEPA Process
- 2:39 Charles Wilkinson Tribute
Part 2
- 00:00 The Evolving Role of Tribes
- 2:30:52 Insights from the Basin States
Friday, June 9
Part 1
- 00:46 Thinking About a Sustainable Future
- 2:01:13 Some Specific Questions to Answer
Part 2
- 00:00 Some Specific Questions to Answer (Continued)
- 2:30:26 Themes, Lessons and Concerns: Can We Turn Crisis into Opportunity?
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