Study: New collaborative research generates lessons for more adaptive lake management
“Sometimes the crazy ideas lead to watershed improvements.” That was a key takeaway from new research conducted by Utah State University, published in the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. Using online spreadsheets during video calls, 26 Colorado River Basin managers and experts took on water user roles to discuss consuming, banking and trading Colorado River water. As Western states face aridity and reservoir levels depleting, more of the water available for consumption and conservation comes from reservoir inflow, not storage. Water banking gives users more flexibility to respond to variable inflow and declining storage. Banking contrasts with current river management that requires California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico to reduce their consumption as Lake Mead levels decline.
Related study:
- Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management: Lessons from immersive online collaborative modeling to discuss more adaptive reservoir operations