Integrated water development: water use and conservation practice in Western Colorado
The goal of this research is to discover whether a more detailed geographical analysis of local water can lead to a broader choice of utilization. A real configuration of water supply problems and how they related to opportunities and constraints on water conservation are addressed. The argument that a geographical approach can contribute in some fashion to the identification of water policy issue, to the evaluation of water management decisions, and to the discovery of linkages between complementary or successive water uses is critically assessed in Chapter 2. The nested hierarchy of water control institutions that affect water use in western Colorado is outlined in Chapter 3 - proceeding from international agreements with Mexico, to Federal and interstate policies, State water administration, and ultimately to sub-state water control activities. After identifying water management controls on the Upper Colorado River main stem, attention is directed toward the principal research problem - local water practice in Garfield and Mesa counties in Colorado. In Chapter 4 the cumulative record of water rights in these two counties is assessed, with special attention given to the differences between patterns of water appropriation on the main stem and on the tributaries of the Colorado River. In Chapter five the legal record of water appropriation is then contrasted with records of actual water diversions in order to evaluate claims of over-appropriation, inefficient irrigation practices, and the profusion of paper rights in western Colorado. Recent changes in both water rights and water diversion are evaluated in Chapter 6. In Chapter 7 current conservation practices with water development objectives are reviewed. Water supply organizations in western Colorado are reviewed in Chapter 8. 30 figures, 55 tables.
- OSTI ID:
- 5630672
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Research Paper No. 210
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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