CHOICES

CHOICES

A publication of AAEA

A publication of AAEA
Colorado River Basin

Colorado River Basin

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Navigating through Whitewater: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities in the Colorado River Basin

Mehdi Nemati and Ariel Dinar

The Colorado River Basin faces challenges from climate-induced aridification, overallocation, and rising water demands. This thematic issue addresses efficiency in irrigated agriculture, water justice for tribal nations and acequias, Upper Basin water trade-offs, climate change impacts, policy effectiveness in the Lower Basin, and farmers' responses to water scarcity.

Climate Crisis is Straining the Colorado River’s Complex Policy Architecture

Zachary Frankel, Nicholas Halberg, Mehdi Nemati, Ariel Dinar, and Daniel Crespo

Twentieth-century Colorado River Basin (CRB) policy architects did not contemplate that climate change would shrink water flows and challenge their agreements. A hydro-economic model of the CRB can help stakeholders identify and empirically test policy solutions to these challenges, helping decision makers create long-term, sustainable policies that address twenty-first-century challenges.

Climate and Choice in the Colorado River Basin

James F. Booker

In the Colorado River Basin, alternatives for coping with falling stream flows associated with climate change are considered through five stylized scenarios which differ in distributional burdens and reliance on demand versus supply side approaches. This article seeks to inform policy negotiations and clarify potential economic outcomes.

Economic Impacts of Climate Change on the Agricultural Sector of the Colorado River Basin

Daniel Crespo, Mehdi Nemati, Ariel Dinar, Zachary Frankel, and Nicholas Halberg

The current Colorado River Basin (CRB) water system has a certain level of adaptability to scarcity, but once a certain threshold is surpassed, net income losses escalate rapidly, from $8 million following a 10% reduction in water availability to $69 million following a 30% reduction. Changes in cropping patterns are needed to address the effects of climate change.

Threading the Needle: Upper Colorado River Basin Responses to Reduced Water Supply Availability

Mahdi Asgari and Kristiana Hansen

We discuss the challenges that Upper Colorado River Basin water users and policy makers face as they work within the parameters of the 1922 Colorado River Compact to respond to changing climate. Challenges include trade-offs among competing agricultural, municipal, and industrial water uses and ecological impacts from altering use patterns.

Water Justice Concerns in the Colorado River Basin

Bonnie Colby and Zoey Reed-Spitzer

Water policy decisions, contamination, and supply disruptions have disproportionate impacts on low-income and minority populations which may lack resources to support resilience. This article discusses several water justice challenges for tribal nations and Hispanic acequia communities in the CRB, along with the contributions of these groups to regional water resilience.

Agricultural Producer Decision Making around Water Conservation in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Daniel F. Mooney and Kristiana M. Hansen

Policy makers are looking for ways to incentivize agricultural water conservation in the Colorado River Basin. We examine considerations important to producers in the Upper Basin when deciding whether to participate in voluntary, temporary, and compensated programs that allow conserved water to be shared with other users.

Arizona Policy Responses to Water Shortage: Can They Have an Impact?

George B. Frisvold

Facing reduced Colorado River deliveries and groundwater depletion, a number of Arizona’s high-profile policy responses have been more symbolic rather than comprehensive solutions to water scarcity. Technology-based approaches are more likely to succeed with complementary institutional changes and better use of hydrologic and economic data.