Savior of Rural Landscapes or Solomon's Choice? Colorado's Experiment with Alternative Water Transfer Methods for Water (ATMs)

Authors

Lisa Dilling, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado
John Berggren, Western Resource Advocates
Jennifer Henderson, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado
Douglas Kenney, University of Colorado Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication

Water Security

Year

2019

Citation Information

Lisa Dilling, John Berggren, Jennifer Henderson & Douglas Kenney, Savior of Rural Landscapes or Solomon's Choice? Colorado's Experiment with Alternative Water Transfer Methods for Water (ATMs), 6 Water Security (2019), Article 100027, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2019.100027, available at https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/articles/1270/.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2019.100027

Abstract

This article focuses on the emerging landscape for Alternative Transfer Methods (ATMs) in Colorado, USA. ATMs are developing within a legal landscape of water rights governed by prior appropriation law, growing demand for water in urban centers driven by population growth, and an aging rural farm population whose most valuable asset may include senior water rights. Rural-urban water transfers in the past have been linked to the collapse of rural economies if pursued to the extreme extent of “buy-and-dry,” where water rights were purchased outright and permanently removed from agricultural land (e.g. Crowley County). This article focuses on the emerging innovations of ATMs, which seek to accomplish the same purpose of providing additional water to growing cities but through more flexible mechanisms, such as rotational fallowing, interruptible supplies, and water banks, that aim to preserve rural economies as well. We review the history and context for water allocation in Colorado, the history of rural-urban transfers, and focus on ATMs and their pros and cons. We conclude with implications of ATMs for water governance and providing flexibility and sustainability in a changing climate.

Comments

"2468-3124/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."

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