Climate Change, Growth Will Add To Western Water Planning Challenges (6/30/08
Climate Change, Growth Will Add
To Western Water Planning ChallengesJACKSON, Wyo. - Managing water resources in the arid West will become ever more challenging as development pressures increase, populations continue to rise and climate change warms the region.
In a plenary session today moderated by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, the 11 governors attending the Western Governors Association annual meeting in Jackson heard from experts who discussed the need to seek out new sources of water, to increase efficiency in the use of water and to implement water recycling programs.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal noted that it often takes decades to put water storage plans into effect by constructing new reservoirs. The last project built in Wyoming took 13 years to obtain federal approval, he said.
Freudenthal also raised concerns about how Western water law fundamentally lacks incentives for conservation and efficiency.
This issue is more conceptual but very real, he said. You want to talk about water conservation, but the whole premise of our water law is utilization - beneficial use. We have to have a strategy that says to users that if they conserve, somehow we have recognized that conservation may modify the scope and dimension of the underlying property right that is so valuable.
Brad Udall, director of the Western Water Assessment at the University of Colorado, spoke on the bleak outlook for water supplies in the region.
Water has long been a zero sum game in the West, Udall said. Climate change introduces the possibility that it will become a negative sum game.
Udall suggested that traditional water storage solutions like reservoirs will play a role in the future of water management in the West, but added that new solutions will also be necessary. These might include broader implementation of gray water recycling systems, increased efficiency in municipal water use and a new focus on water when planning power plants and other energy generating facilities as they are often heavy water users.
Duane Smith of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board presented a report developed by the Western States Water Council that offers recommendations on water policy and growth in the West, the needs for water infrastructure, the anticipated impacts of climate change on water supplies and strategies for protecting aquatic species under the Endangered Species Act.
Several governors offered comments on their states' struggles with water supply and management. Gov. DaveHeineman of Nebraska discussed Nebraska's efforts to manage conflicts over water and the role of local governments in water planning. Gov. C.L.Butch Otter described Idaho's efforts to build additional water infrastructure and to more closely examine existing aquifers in the state. Gov. Bill Ritter discussed Colorado's reliance on water and its active drought planning efforts.
Moderator Gov. Napolitano of Arizona said she created a new Growth Cabinet comprised of the secretaries of agencies that address growth and development in her state.Arizona now requires developers to show proven access to long-term water resources before they can move forward on developments.
Udall said the best way to capture new sources of water appear to be through desalination plants and in developing systems to reuse water.
The fundamental thing is that there is a water cycle and there's a limited amount out there, he said.
The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management.
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