by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel People concerned about water levels in the West’s reservoirs should be able to cheer up now. The U.S. Drought Monitor system has removed drought status from the entire Western Slope and nearly all of California. Snowpack this winter was well above [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel My grandpa was a ditch rider on the Stub Canal in Palisade, and when someone used more water than they were entitled to, the solution was simple — he locked the headgates. This week, the seven Colorado River Basin states announced [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Let’s say you have a spring on your land, and you are surrounded by people living in the desert who are desperate for water. You make your living selling it to them, but I like the looks of the spring and [...]
by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor As Appearing in the California Globe Droughts are naturally occurring; water shortages are created by government The California Department of Water Resources announced that snowpack levels have reached nearly 250%, the Globe reported Tuesday. Specifically, the Northern Sierra region is currently at 209% [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel There are many studies on the history of the Bureau of Reclamation, established in 1902 to bring water, and life, to the West. Some writers claim it was needed to relieve overcrowding in the cities, to get people to move to [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel In all election years, candidates promise to protect Colorado water and supporters disagree on which candidate would do that best. This newspaper, in its editorial endorsements, mentioned water issues in five state and local campaigns, even basing its Attorney General endorsement [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel None of my columns have ever generated as many emails and phone calls as the recent series about the Colorado River, draining Lake Powell and California’s abuse of its entitled share. When the Bureau of Reclamation decided to give that state [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Old timers who manage ditches, head gates and canals often mention the “head of water.” It refers, somewhat imprecisely, to an amount of water needed to force its movement over various distances. A bigger hayfield requires a bigger “head of water” [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel President Jimmy Carter’s Office of Management and Budget Director Bert Lance is best remembered for a corruption scandal involving Calhoun National Bank. But he is also the one who popularized the corny phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “That’s [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Several recent newspaper articles have focused on the Colorado River, because of the historically low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. A recent follow-up in Greenwire asked the rhetorical question, “Could the Colorado River Compact adapt to go with [...]