Water law

Low Point for Colorado River Storage

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:45:07 +0000

Low Point for Colorado River Storage Annie Carlozzi Wed, 07/15/2026 - 07:45

Jack Schmidt , Anne Castle , John Fleck , Eric Kuhn , Kathryn Sorensen , Katherine Tara

July 12, 2026 marked the date that the combined storage in Lake Mead and Lake Powell reached a new all time low. Stored water reserves in the two reservoirs are now less than they were before Lake Powell was constructed. The last time the combined total live storage in these two workhorse reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin was this small was May 23, 1957, almost 70 years ago, when water was stored only in Lake Mead. Our ability to offset consumptive use that exceeds natural supply with reservoir releases is not infinite and is speedily diminishing. Water use must be reduced.

A Significant Moment in the Colorado River Water Supply Crisis

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Thirst for Data: State Responses to Data Center Water Use

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 23:11:18 +0000

Thirst for Data: State Responses to Data Center Water Use Annie Carlozzi Thu, 07/09/2026 - 17:11

Daniel Anderson

Thirst for Data: State Responses to Data Center Water Use is a new Getches-Wilkinson Center report on Artificial Intelligence, water, and legal reform. AI is fueling a data center development boom—but what does it mean for our water future? Data centers consume large amounts of water, are increasingly located in the arid West, and are projected to grow exponentially in the coming years. With the federal government standing aside, states are struggling to respond swiftly and effectively to their citizens' concerns. This new paper examines emerging state legislation across the country, identifying four major water policy approaches: reporting, conservation, incentives, and prior appropriation requirements. Whether you're a policymaker, researcher, industry leader, or concerned citizen, this analysis offers a timely snapshot at one of the fastest-evolving intersections of technology and water policy.

Report authors: Daniel Anderson, J.D., Getches-Wilkinson Water Law Fellow and Sydney Stellato, Colorado Law Student, Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow

Read Thirst for Data: State Responses to Data Center Water Use

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Aug 21: The Colorado River's Uncertain Water Future Explained with Brad Udall

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:57:10 +0000

Aug 21: The Colorado River's Uncertain Water Future Explained with Brad Udall Annie Carlozzi Thu, 07/09/2026 - 09:57

Brad Udall presents an engaging look at the Colorado River in an era of climate change. Discover the challenges facing the river and the choices that will shape its future.

This event is co-hosted by Colorado Mountain Club Boulder Group and Getches-Wilkinson Center.

Friday, August 21, 2026
6:00-7:30 p.m. (Mountain Time)
Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom

In person only. Zoom will not be offered for this event.

Free and Open to the public

Register Here

Brad Udall

Bradley H. Udall is a Senior Water and Climate Research Scientist / Scholar at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center. His expertise includes hydrology and related policy issues of the American West, with a focus on the Colorado River. Brad was a co-author of the 2009 and 2018 National Climate Assessments and a contributing author to the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5^th Assessment. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on the causes of the 21^st century declining Colorado River flows and on the ongoing aridification of the Western United States. Brad has testified in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on the impacts of climate change on water resources and provided input to multiple National Academy of Science panels. Brad was formerly the Director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural 91��ý, Energy and Environment at the University of Colorado Law School and Director of the University of Colorado - NOAA Western Water Assessment. In 2024 he was awarded the David Getches Flowing Waters award from the Colorado Water Trust. Brad has an engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from Colorado State University.

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The Colorado River Water Supply Crisis in a Few Graphs: Part 1

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:25:18 +0000

The Colorado River Water Supply Crisis in a Few Graphs: Part 1 Annie Carlozzi Thu, 06/18/2026 - 11:25

Jack Schmidt , Anne Castle , Eric Kuhn , Kathryn Sorensen , Katherine Tara

We almost always focus on just Lake Powell and Lake Mead, but there are 46 reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin. This new paper by Jack Schmidt and the usual suspects looks at the state and trends of total Basin storage and the “Ratchet Effect” when we consistently use more water than Nature supplies.

The Colorado River Water Supply Crisis in a Few Graphs: Part 1

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June 4 & 5: 2026 Conference on the Colorado River

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:10:39 +0000

June 4 & 5: 2026 Conference on the Colorado River Annie Carlozzi Thu, 06/04/2026 - 09:10

The Colorado River:

Searching for Solutions in the Face of Uncertainty

The Colorado River is facing unprecedented change and uncertainty. Average annual flows continue to decline, and negotiations to craft post-2026 guidelines to manage the river have repeatedly bogged down over disagreements about delivery obligations, sharing shortages and mandatory conservation. While some clarity may emerge in the coming months, the ability to sustain many existing municipal and agricultural water users is already compromised. Meanwhile, there is growing recognition that a durable resolution must also address the water rights of sovereign Tribal nations and better integrate environmental values into river management. All sovereigns, stakeholders, and sectors must work together now more than ever to find solutions for short-term needs and long-term goals.

The Getches-Wilkinson Center and Water & Tribes Initiative will co-convene the 2026 Conference on the Colorado River at the Wolf Law Building in Boulder, CO.

Thursday, June 4th and Friday, June 5th
Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom

Thursday, June 4th
7:30-8am: Registration Opens and Light Breakfast
8am-5pm: Colorado River Conference
5-6:30pm: Reception for Registered Attendees

Friday, June 5th
7:30-8am: Registration Opens and Light Breakfast
8am-3pm: Colorado River Conference

Breakfast, Snack and Lunch provided daily
Free parking onsite. Parking details will be sent out the week of the conference.

We hope you join us for what will be sure to be an engaging 2-day conference bringing together thought leaders from across the Colorado Basin.

Conference Agenda

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3

Public Event: Screening of The American Southwest.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4

Session 1: Climate & Hydrology: Expectations for an Ever-Shrinking Pie. Growing water shortages on the Colorado River system derive from a mismatch between supplies and human demands. While water managers can proactively manage demands, natural inflows to the basin are not easily manipulated, placing a premium on understanding trends and forecasts.

Session 2: Sustaining a Living River. Respecting and protecting the ecological lifeline of the Southwest is a formidable challenge given that existing laws and policies are largely designed to divert water out of the river and consumptively use it off-stream. This panel will highlight some emerging efforts to recover and sustain the Colorado as a living river.

Session 3: Living with Less on Farms and Ranches. Irrigated agriculture is the largest water use in the basin, and is where most of the current and projected curtailments are aimed. Although there have been some notable innovations already, more will be required to balance the basin’s water budget. This panel will highlight lessons learned from farms and ranches where adapting to less water is already underway.

Session 4. Designing Water Conservation Programs for the Future. Large-scale water conservation is essential to future management of the Colorado River, however, these efforts raise a host of legal, political and administrative challenges. This panel will reflect on lessons learned in prior conservation efforts, and identify suggestions for the design of more comprehensive and effective future programs.

FRIDAY, JUNE 5

Session 5: Status of the Post-2026 Guidelines. The process of developing the post-2026 operating guidelines remains an ongoing challenge. The basin’s four sets of sovereigns -- including federal and state governments, Tribal nations, and Mexico – along with multiple stakeholders have discussed a range of options to share water shortages, conserve water, and coordinate operations of Lake Powell/Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead/Hoover Dam. This series of panels will provide an update on the process of developing post-2026 guidelines, review the options under consideration, and reflect on the potential alternatives to a negotiated solution.

Session 6: Learning from the Process: How do we Do Better in the Future? As substantive negotiations over reservoir operations and conservation programs have languished, it’s worthwhile to think about what this says about the processes and traditions being relied upon to identify the needed solutions. This panel will examine recent efforts to improve inclusivity, and proposals for making problem-solving more proactive, transparent, and holistic.

Confirmed Speakers Bios and Headshots Can be Found HERE

Chairwoman Amelia Flores, Colorado River Indian Tribes
Amy Moyer, Colorado River Water Conservation District
Anne Castle, Getches-Wilkinson Center
Becky Mitchell, Upper Colorado River Commission
Brad Udall, Colorado State University
Carlos de la Parra, Centro Luken
Celene Hawkins, The Nature Conservancy
Chris Winter, Getches-Wilkinson Center
Daniel Anderson, Getches-Wilkinson Center
Daryl Vigil, Water & Tribes Initiative
David DeJong, Gila River Indian Community
Doug Kenney, Getches-Wilkinson Center
James Eklund, Taft Law
Jason Robison, University of Wyoming College of Law
Jay Weiner, Quechan Tribe Attorney
John Berggren, Western Resource Advocates
John Bezdek, CRIT Attorney
John Entsminger, Colorado River Commissioner for Nevada
Kathryn Sorensen, Kyl Center for Water Policy
Katrina Grantz, Bureau of Reclamation
Mark Squillace, Colorado Law School
Roger Fragua, Flower Hill Institute
Samantha Barncastle, Family Farm Alliance
Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Scott Cameron, Bureau of Reclamation
Scott Campbell, The Freshwater Trust
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis, Gila River Indian Community
Tina Shields, Imperial Irrigation District
Zak Podmore, Author

Colorado CLE credits have been approved: 11 general credits and 1.20 EDI credits

Photographs
Barb Colombo of 11:11 Productions Photography has provided us with wonderful images of the Conference. We’ve added them to a Flickr album for easy viewing here.

Recordings
You can find the video recording of the conference here.

2026 Conference on the Colorado River Introductions Day 1

Session 1: Climate & Hydrology: Expectations for an Ever-Shrinking Pie

Session 2: Sustaining a Living River

Session 3: Living with Less on Farms and Ranches

Session 4: Designing Water Conservation Programs for the Future

Session 5: Status of the Post-2026 Guidelines: The Evolving Federal Role

2026 Conference on the Colorado River Introductions Day 2

Session 5: Status of the Post-2026 Guidelines, continued Day 2

Session 5: Status of the Post-2026 Guidelines Tribal Perspectives

Session 6: Learning from the Process: How do we Do Better in the Future?

Thank You to 2026 Conference Partners:

Water & Tribes Iniative Partners

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UPDATE: Colorado River Basin Storage Continues Slide Toward System Crash

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:39:02 +0000

UPDATE: Colorado River Basin Storage Continues Slide Toward System Crash Annie Carlozzi Mon, 06/01/2026 - 10:39

Anne Castle , Jack Schmidt , Eric Kuhn , Kathryn Sorensen , Katherine Tara

Stored water reserves in the Colorado River system continue to decline. The mismatch between natural supply and overall Basin water use is having the inevitable effect on Basin-wide storage. This paper analyzes the impact on storage in the system’s major reservoirs under two scenarios – a wet year and a dry one. Another dry year brings the system dangerously close to crashing (i.e., run-of-the-river operations), and a wet year provides only a temporary reprieve. Without significant reductions in use throughout the Basin, water users will no longer derive any benefit from the extensive and expensively-constructed Colorado River reservoir system, intended to bring reliable water supplies and associated prosperity to the southwestern United States.

Authors: Anne Castle, Jack Schmidt, Eric Kuhn, Kathryn Sorensen, and Katherine Tara

UPDATE: Colorado River Basin Storage Continues Slide Toward System Crash

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Wind River Water Forum 2026

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 14 May 2026 18:28:05 +0000

Wind River Water Forum 2026 Annie Carlozzi Thu, 05/14/2026 - 12:28

Daniel Anderson

On Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd, the Wind River Water Resource Control Board (WRWRCB), Gina Guy Center for Land and Water Law, and Getches-Wilkinson Center hosted the 2nd Annual Wind River Water Forum. Gathering at the Frank B. Wise Building in Fort Washakie, this year’s forum focused on water management issues and solutions led by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho of Wind River Reservation. Attendees engaged throughout the forum, and both in-person and remote attendance was roughly four times that of last year’s inaugural Wind River Water Forum. One message rang clear from this year’s Wind River Water Forum: dedicated interest in responsible and thoughtful water management at Wind River Reservation is growing – starting first from the local community but also expanding to a diverse national audience.

Wind River Water Resource Control Board Panel

By 9AM on May 1st, there was standing room only as community members from Wind River Reservation, local non-profits, university researchers and students, government officials, and more packed in to hear from the Wind River Water Resource Control Board. Moderated by John Washakie, Former Deputy Tribal Water Engineer, and featuring Lokilo St. Clair, Tribal Water Engineer, and members of the WRWRCB, this panel discussed the key history and pressing issues for Tribal-led water management at Wind River Reservation. Topics during the panel, and the Q&A that followed, ranged from how the Tribal Water Engineer’s office strives to maintain and improve Tribal irrigation projects to efforts to collaborate with other Missouri River Valley Basin Tribal Nations on water management.

Community Organizations Panel

After moving to a larger conference room during the break, the second panel of the day featured several community-based organizations working on water-related projects at Wind River Reservation. Moderated by Dr. Tarissa Spoonhunter, Assistant Professor at the Haub School of Environment and Natural 91��ý and Director of the High Plains American Indian Resource Institute, the panel included Jason Baldes from the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, Colleen Friday from the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Big Wind Carpenter from Wyoming Outdoor Council, Leslie Shakespeare from the Wind River Development Fund, and Darwin St. Clair III. The panelists shared how water intersects with their work, including the cultural connections between water and buffalo recovery, the importance of water investments to support Tribal governance, and ongoing threats to water quality at Wind River Reservation. The throughline from these presentations? The community understands that water is vital to the health, culture, and economy of Wind River Reservation – and they are working hard to protect the many values that flow from water.

Following a community lunch, the conference shifted to consider emergent proposals to address long-standing water management issues facing many Tribal Nations. Moderated by Daniel Anderson, Getches-Wilkinson Center Water Law Fellow, the panel featured presentations by Jason Robison, Carl M. Williams Professor of Law and Responsibility and Co-Director of the Gina Guy Center at the University of Wyoming College of Law, Alyson White Eagle, Tribal Water Institute Fellow at the Native American Rights Fund, and Bethany Aragon, Student Fellow at the Gina Guy Center and J.D./M.A. student at University of Wyoming. These presentations examined the interstices between the Federal Trust Responsibility, Tribal sovereignty, access to clean water, structural exclusion of Tribal Nations from interstate water compacts, and tools within the Clean Water Act available to Tribal Nations. Dialogue on legal considerations followed the presentations, including the panelists’ thoughts about ongoing global efforts led by indigenous peoples to recognize their relationships with – and the rights of – rivers.

Finally, the day ended with a keynote address from Representative Ivan Posey, Wyoming House District 33, who also serves as the Co-Chairman of the Select Committee on Tribal Relations. Representative Posey expressed his thoughts on the importance of balancing water use at the Wind River Reservation, as well as the need to continue advancing education about water rights and water management concerns within Wind River Reservation and beyond.

Washakie Reservoir

On the following morning, May 2^nd, attendees of the Wind River Water Forum toured key water infrastructure across the Wind River Reservation. This included stops at Washakie Reservoir, Bull Lake, the proposed site of Steamboat Reservoir, and Diversion Dam. Led by Howard Brown, WRWRCB member, and Gary Collins, Former Tribal Water Engineer, the group considered not only the infrastructural challenges, but also the potential opportunities to improve Tribal benefits from water infrastructure. Discussion topics also included protection of Tribal cultural resources and how to more closely align water management decisions with enduring Tribal water relationships at Wind River Reservation.

Tour group at the Lenore Bridge over the Wind River

Planning for the 3rd Annual Wind River Water Forum is currently underway. Feel free to reach out to Daniel Anderson (daniel.anderson-1@colorado.edu) with any thoughts or questions regarding next year’s water forum.

To access recordings of panel discussions from May 1st, please click here.

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GWC Welcomes New Water Law Fellow Tyanne Benallie

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:54:43 +0000

GWC Welcomes New Water Law Fellow Tyanne Benallie Annie Carlozzi Wed, 04/01/2026 - 15:54

Colorado Law is ranked seventh in the nation for environmental law with the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural 91��ý, Energy, and the Environment (GWC) advancing its commitment to educating young leaders through the Water Law Fellows Program. Now in its fifth year, the program addresses the rising demand for thoughtful policy initiatives at all levels of government by training the next generation of outstanding leaders in sustainable water management, water law, and policy.

With the accelerated need to address extraordinary circumstances in an unprecedented era, Colorado Law and the GWC are uniquely situated as a premier pipeline of diverse future leaders in environmental and natural resources matters.

The Water Law Fellows Program is not just an educational experience — it’s a career accelerator. This intensive multidisciplinary program equips Fellows with the skills and knowledge to produce high-quality work that influences law reform in the public interest, setting them up for successful careers in environmental law and policy.

Fellows conduct reform-oriented research on the most pressing issues in their field and interact with public and private sector leaders to inform policymaking, all while under the mentorship of leading researchers. Colorado Law and the GWC are known for distinguished faculty, a long record of public service, an extraordinary body of research and an interdisciplinary curriculum that includes unique on-the-ground learning.

The Getches-Wilkinson Center is thrilled to announce that Tyanne Benallie will be joining the team as a Water Law Fellow in August 2026. Tyanne Benallie (Ty) is a member of the Diné Nation, born for the Tó’ahaní (Near the Water Clan) and born into Naashashí (Bear Clan), with family roots in the Bisti region (Checkerboard) of northwest New Mexico. Raised in Albuquerque, she developed an early appreciation for diverse cultures, which has led her to travel to 43 countries.

Ty holds a B.A. in Political Science from Fort Lewis College, with a minor in Spanish, and an M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University. She has dedicated her career to working with resilient populations, bringing expertise in Indigenous capacity-building initiatives and policy across environmental, social, education, and health sectors. Her experience includes work in tribal communities, roles in Washington, D.C., and volunteer service in developing countries.

She will graduate with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of New Mexico School of Law in May 2026, along with dual certificates in Indian Law and Natural 91��ý and Environmental Law. Outside her studies and work, Ty enjoys traveling, running, hiking, skiing, ice skating, yoga, photography, writing, film, reading, music, and time with family. Ahé’héé.

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Advanced Natural 91��ý Seminar Explores the Colorado Plateau

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:03:58 +0000

Advanced Natural 91��ý Seminar Explores the Colorado Plateau Annie Carlozzi Mon, 03/30/2026 - 14:03

Celeste Baro , Sydney Stellato

After an approximately seven-hour drive from Boulder, we arrived at Dugout Ranch and the Canyonlands Research Center, tucked deep within canyon country near Bears Ears National Monument and Canyonlands National Park. We spent our first night under a sky full of stars, and in the morning, we woke from our tents surrounded by towering orange and red rock formations.

That morning, we met with Matt and Kristen Redd, managers of the Dugout Ranch and Canyonlands Research Center. In 1997, The Nature Conservancy worked with the Redd family to purchase the Dugout Ranch, securing a major conservation win and protecting important lands and waters from development. Later, in 2009, The Nature Conservancy purchased the Dugout’s cattle herd for use as a research tool, and in 2010, a suite of partners formally launched the Canyonlands Research Center. Hearing about the ranch’s transformation into a living research laboratory showed us what collaborative conservation can look like in practice where ranching, science, and conservation all intersect.

While at the ranch, we also heard from Shaun Ketchum, a young Diné and Ute Mountain Ute leader and Director of the 100 Years of Silence Project. He shared the history behind the project, which seeks to illuminate a painful and little-known event in Ute history, when 80 Ute tribal members were rounded up and imprisoned in a barbed-wire camp near Blanding, Utah, based on false accusations. The project works to bring this history to light in order to promote public understanding and healing for Ute people.

We also hiked into Shay Canyon to view petroglyphs etched into the canyon walls. After our hike, we drove to Bluff, Utah, where we stayed for the night.

The following morning, we met Amanda Podmore, Conservation Director at the Grand Canyon Trust, for breakfast before heading out for a hike along Comb Ridge. There, we talked about the Trust’s work on Bears Ears National Monument, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, and their broader public lands and tribal outreach efforts across the Colorado Plateau.

From there, we made our way to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, where we stayed at the Grand Canyon Trust’s Kane Ranch. In September 2005, the Trust completed a historic transaction to purchase the grazing rights and base property of the Kane and Two-Mile Ranches in the heart of the Arizona Strip. Together, the ranches encompass 850,000 acres. Because current law requires that some cattle be grazed on the ranches, the Trust maintains a cattle operation while also carrying out an ambitious conservation program to assess and improve land health. They collect baseline data across different ecosystems—ponderosa pine forest, pinyon-juniper woodland, and wetlands—and track changes over time to guide restoration and management.

We spent the next two nights at Kane Ranch cooking meals together, wandering the fields, and watching the stars at night. During the day, we visited the proposed dam site in Marble Canyon and discussed ongoing Colorado River issues—water scarcity, drought, and the immense pressure placed on the river by the many communities and states that rely on it. We also drove to a condor viewing area, where we learned about the reintroduction of the California condor, an endangered species that once had a population of only about 20 individuals. Seeing condors soaring again over the canyon felt like a rare conservation success story. We also visited the White Sage Burn area and discussed pinyon-juniper management and changing fire regimes on the landscape.

The next morning, we drove to Page, Arizona, for a tour of Glen Canyon Dam with Bob Martin, Deputy Power Manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Authorized by the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956 and completed in 1963, Glen Canyon Dam was built to store water for Colorado River Compact requirements and generate hydroelectric power. Standing inside the dam, we talked about the future of Lake Powell and the very real possibility of the reservoir reaching “dead pool,” the level at which water can no longer flow through the dam, and even “power pool,” where hydropower generation would no longer be possible. These questions—about water storage, electricity, drought, and the ability of Upper Basin states to meet compact obligations—made clear just how much the modern West depends on this single river system.

After the tour, we continued to Tuba City, located on the border of the Navajo and Hopi reservations, reflecting on everything we had seen and learned over the past several days—about conservation, history, water, energy, and the many different people and communities connected to these landscapes.

Tuba City happened to be the city that Professor Krakoff began her career in American Indian Law, working for DNA People’s Legal Services for three years. We visited her home when she lived in Tuba City – an old Mormon settlement with tall poplar trees. We got to see Newspaper Rock – a popular site for petroglyphs from various historical tribes that used the rock to communicate with each other. We spoke with women from Change Labs – a non-profit working on giving resources to Native run businesses through providing business coaching, microloans, and a workspace for people to work out of. They work with all different types of businesses to help make sure that businesses on the reservation can thrive. This was complimented by a talk with Amber Benally and Ethan Aumack who highlighted the Grand Canyon Trust’s Just Transition Program focused on helping tribes that benefitted from coal mining to transition to non-extractive industries.

At Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation, we spoke to Bidtah Becker, the Chief Legal Counsel for the President and Vice President, about current water rights settlements happening on the Colorado River, the Navajo Nation’s water settlement, and how the two are intertwined. We also got to speak with one of the Navajo Nation’s hydrologists who explained the science of the water settlement to us. Finally, we had lunch in town with Navajo tacos, a specialty on the Nation. We stopped by the home of Deon Ben, the Native America Director, who talked about his work with the Grand Canyon Trust and working on coalition building for Southwest Tribes, including the tribes work with establishing and managing nearby National Monuments. He also allowed us to see into his home, a modern day hogan. Hogans are traditional dwellings of the Navajo people. Being able to see him living and working on his families homestead was a privilege.

On Thursday, we left the Navajo Nation and went back into Colorado. We stayed in Ignasio, Colorado where we met with Lisa Yellow Eagle, and got to visit the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. We talked about the Southern Ute’s federally reserved water rights and the water projects that they and the BIA have on tribal property. Then we got to tour the Pine River Indian Irrigation Project (“PRITT”) and see the miles and miles of irrigation and canals that the tribe uses to get water. We discussed water settlements and how the water of Colorado has been used to support the tribe, and various economic avenues that the tribe has used to support itself. As an added benefit we got to see a bald eagle flying away!

Finally, we met with a former student of the seminar, who went on his own field seminar down by the Rio Grande when he attended Colorado Law. We had dinner with Dan McCarl who currently works for Maynes, Bradford, Shipps & Sheftel. He has worked with the DOJ in the Environment & Natural Resource Division and Western Energy Project and had a very nuanced view into how various aspects of American Indian Law, energy law, and water law coincide. He offered insight into how to be an attorney working from different avenues to help achieve our goals.

We spent the night in Pagosa Springs before driving back up to Boulder on Friday. After eight days of learning and being on the road we were very excited to be back at Colorado Law to be able to put everything we learned about into action!

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Rethinking How the United States and Mexico Share the Colorado River

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:35:06 +0000

Rethinking How the United States and Mexico Share the Colorado River Annie Carlozzi Mon, 03/30/2026 - 10:35

Eric Kuhn , Anne Castle , Carlos de la Parra , John Fleck , Jack Schmidt , Kathryn Sorensen , Katherine Tara

With the existing Colorado River operating rules set to expire in nine months, the relationships among the Basin States have been the focus of much discussion and analysis, but the agreements between the US and Mexico governing their relationship are terminating at the same time. Discussions between the two countries are just ramping up, and there is a window of opportunity for new, creative arrangements that better reflect conditions on the River and make Mexico less dependent on what appears to be inevitable litigation in the US. This paper looks closely at the hydrology and hydrogeography of the Colorado River and suggests a shift from a fixed volume delivery obligation to one that equitably shares whatever water exists on a percentage basis.

Authors:
Eric Kuhn, Anne Castle, Carlos de la Parra, John Fleck, Jack Schmidt, Kathryn Sorensen and Katherine Tara

Rethinking How the United States and Mexico Share the Colorado River

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