From the University of Colorado at Boulder:
Assigned Water programs in the Colorado River system, like Intentionally Created Surplus and Mexican Water Reserve, have created valuable flexibility in the Lower Basin. These programs mitigate the disincentive for conservation or saving water inherent in the prior appropriation system of water rights, the “use it or lose it” phenomenon. They have proved to be critical to managing volatility in water supplies and were an essential component of the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan.
During the two decades that Assigned Water has existed in the Colorado River, we have learned more about both the benefits of these programs and some of the problems with the specific rules through which they have been implemented. A group of Colorado River policy experts, dubbed the Traveling Wilburys of the Colorado River, has published a new paper discussing the advantages and drawbacks of existing Assigned Water programs and providing recommendations for designing a better system for the future, including a potential conservation pool in the Upper Basin.
An executive summary of the work is provided here, together with the complete discussion and rationale for specific recommendations.
Authors: Kathryn Sorensen, Sarah Porter, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Eric Kuhn, Jack Schmidt, Katherine Tara
- Executive Summary and Recommendations
- Considerations for Assigned Water after Expiration of the 2007 Guidelines
