Western Water: The Push for More Storage in Headwaters
Episode description
Speakers
- Bruce Finley (Moderator) Denver Post environment writer - panel moderator
- John Fielder (Speaker) Landscape Photographer, Conservationist and Rivers Advocate
- Matt Rice (Speaker) Director, Colorado River Basin Program, American Rivers
- Brad Udall (Speaker) Senior Scientist/Scholar, Colorado State University
- Reagan Waskom (Speaker) Director, Colorado Water Center, Colorado State University
- Brad Wind (Speaker) General Manager, Northern Water
Description
Colorado's population growth and development boom, combined with increased variability in water flows linked to climate change, is driving new efforts to build reservoirs and increase water storage. This is happening as competition increases for water across the Colorado River Basin in the West — the over-allocated supply for 40 million people. Panelists will explore key questions around the environmental impact of diverting water and storing it behind dams. Can relatively free-flowing rivers survive? How are westerners in Colorado responding to climate change impacts on water flows? What are the implications beyond the river headwaters state of Colorado? How far can we go with water conservation inside cities? Will agriculture survive?