logo

HomeInitiativesWater: Supply, Transfers, & DroughtWater Transfers

Innovative Water Transfers

Innovative Water Transfers

 

             RECENT UPDATES

Water Transfers in the West Report Released
December 3, 2012
Report
Press Release
Executive Summary
Stakeholder Perspectives 
Webinar Slides (January 24, 2013)
Webinar Recording (Link directs to an external site for streaming audio/video)

Innovative Water Transfers Report up for review at Fall WSWC meeting

As new demands stretch the West’s limited water resources, cities, industry, environmentalists and other new water users increasingly turn to voluntary, market-based water transfers.  The Western Governors passed a policy in 2011 specifically recognizing the potential benefits of market-based water transfers as well as concerns for those who rely on current water sharing arrangements.

One outcome of that policy resolution was a directive to identify and promote innovative ways to allow water transfers from agricultural to other uses (including urban, energy and environmental) while avoiding or mitigating damages to agricultural economies and communities. With that priority identified by the Governors, WGA and WSWC have engaged in a year-long project on Innovative Water Transfers.

 

Report - Water Transfers in the WestReport: Water Transfers in the West

The Western Governors and the Western States Water Council co-released a report in December 2012, titled Water Transfers in the West, which provides an overview on how the region can help meet growing demands for water with voluntary market-based sales and leases of water rights.

The report is a product of a year-long project in partnership with the Western States Water Council (WSWC), a group of top water administrators in the Western states. The Western Governors’ Association and WSWC convened three stakeholder workshops with more than 100 participants from July to December of 2011. The meetings drew state administrators, environmental organizations, farmers, academics, and water resource professionals from across the West, providing diverse perspectives on water transfers. Some of those participants share their perspectives on transfers in this document.

 

 

Stakeholder Workshops

Scarce water resources mean that nearly everyone has an interest in resource reallocation through water transfers. The WGA and WSWC convened three stakeholder workshops with over 100 participants from July to December of 2011. The meetings drew state water administrators, environmental NGOs, farmers, academics, and water resource professionals from across the West, providing diverse perspectives on water transfers.

 

 

 

 

Innovative Water Transfers Workshop I - Bend, Oregon - July 27, 2011

 

On July 27th, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and Western States Water Council (WSWC) held a meeting in Bend, Oregon to kick-off a year-long project on innovative water transfers in the West. Attendees included WSWC members from state water and natural resource departments as well as agricultural water users, cities, environmental interests, and water market professionals. The primary purposes of the meeting were to inform states and other stakeholders of the project and to solicit guidance and research direction for key issues over the next year.

 

Presentations and materials from the July 2011 workshop:

 

 

 

 

Innovative Water Transfers Workshop II - Denver, Colorado - October 27-28, 2011

 

On October 27 and 28, water policy experts from public, private, and non-profit fields convened in Denver for a workshop on innovative water transfers. The workshop was jointly hosted by the Western Governors Association and Western States Water Council as part of a year-long project to identify policy strategies for Western states to use in water transfers. The Colorado Water Conservation Board joined as a host in this workshop, the second in a round of three meetings.

Presentations and materials from the October 2011 workshop:

 

Innovative Water Transfers Workshop III - Las Vegas, Nevada - December 12-13, 2011

 

On December 12 and 13, a group of practitioners, scholars, water resource managers, and experts gathered for a workshop on innovative water transfers. The group convened to discuss three aspects of water transfers and to find creative ways to approach them: transfers involving the Bureau of Reclamation, infrastructure and transfers, and the role of the private sector in water transfers.

Presentations and materials from the December 2011 workshop: