The Three Colorado Rivers: Comparing the Physical, Legal, and Economic Allocation of a Shared River

Abstract:

: For many rivers, the legal allocation of surface water was settled decades ago. The process of apportioning surface water between multiple stakeholders is an arduous process with opposing interests competing for scarce resources. The political capital spent initially allocating a river often cannot be regained, stymieing future attempts for re-allocation. The Colorado River Compact (Compact), signed in 1922, has been “the law of the river” for over 90 years. Since its signing, the Colorado River Basin (CRB) population has increased tenfold, while average river flows have decreased due to threats unforeseeable to Compact signers, such as global climate change. Water sharing agreements, like the Compact, legally re-allocate physical river flows; however, water is increasingly shared through trade rather than aqueducts. Virtual water, or the water embodied by a good or service, is a trade adaption to resource scarcity, namely water and land. This study presents findings of a virtual water complement to the Compact. The goal of this study is to determine how the legal allocation of physical water resources are re-allocated as virtual water via economic trade in a shared river basin. Results are presented by at the sub-basin, state, and county-level, showing the geographic origin and destination of virtual water from CRB states and the Upper and Lower basins. A water stress index is calculated to show the indirect water stress of Colorado River water resources and network statistics are employed to rank the importance of virtual water sources in the CRB.