Suchergebnisse

Presented at Urbanization of irrigated land and water transfers: a USCID water management conference on May 28-31, 2008 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Following a major investigation into its water supply needs by the year 2030 which projects a significant shortage, Colorado's state legislature in 2006 enacted a Colorado Water for the 21st Century act. Stakeholders from each of the state's major water basins formed roundtables to first assess their respective basins' water challenges, and then to potentially agree on "interbasin" compacts to affect multi-basin solutions to the state's water supply dilemma. One of the issues of particular concern in the Arkansas Basin is the effect on the viability of agricultural communities when water is transferred from agriculture to cities - a practice which is expected to increase in the state as water supplies for urban needs fall short. A group of stakeholders from rural communities in the lower stretch of the Arkansas Basin proposed a set of guidelines to govern such transfers, upon which stakeholders representing basin urban areas proposed an alternate set of guidelines. In an attempt to resolve their differences, an "ag to urban water transfers" committee was established. This paper provides something of a sociological case study of the committee's progress in understanding their underlying beliefs and values, approaching such concerns as how to manage urban growth and revitalize rural economies, and attempting to develop prototypes for "how to get it right" when water is transferred, whether through "buy and dry" or such alternative practices as rotational fallowing. Their use of outside resources in "joint fact finding" is discussed.

Presented during the USCID water management conference held on October 13-16, 2004 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The theme of the conference was "Water rights and related water supply issues." ; The allocation of limited supplies of water for multiple uses in the western United States is increasingly difficult. Stakeholders have diverse and seemingly irreconcilable needs, with many deep-rooted opinions on how the water should be allocated. A complex system of water rights and the regulations of multiple government agencies add further complications. The U.S. Department of the Interior has deemed the issue serious enough to undertake Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West, to "speed up the resolution of water supply problems and ensure that the solutions are balanced and durable." How will solutions be found? Are more technological solutions needed, or better application of the technological solutions already available? Or are solutions more likely to be found in the arena of resolution of conflict among stakeholders laying claim to the water? How can the public be brought onboard in a meaningful way, when the issues are so complex? Do models used in the past provide the framework through which resolution can be achieved? Does legislative action and/or public referendums help or hinder? This paper proposes that those responsible for making decisions about water supply allocation should consider creative consensus building processes their primary tool, not a peripheral one. Such processes should take the place of adversarial debate and litigation which often leads to mediocre results and a discouraged, disenfranchised public. Research dollars should be allocated to explore emerging collaboration techniques and to formulate and test state of the art consensus building technologies. Consensus built solutions should replace 1) adversarial debate on the part of legislative bodies and 2) voting by the public via the referendum process. The State of Colorado's current experience with a statewide water supply initiative following a failed public referendum is discussed as a case study. ; Proceedings sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Central Utah Project Completion Act Office and the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage.

A collaborative effort of the Agricultural/Urban/Environmental Water Sharing Work Group. ; Includes bibliographical references.