Chasing Water

Copyright © 2014 Brian Richter All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 2000 M Street, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036.

Island Press is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics.

Grateful acknowledgment is expressed for permission to reprint the poem “Water.” Copyright © 2011 by Wendell Berry from Farming: A Handbook. Used by permission of Counterpoint.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Richter, Brian D. Chasing water : a guide for moving from scarcity to sustainability / Brian Richter. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61091-536-6 (hardback) ISBN-10: 1-61091-536-4 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-1-61091-538-0 (paper) 1. Water supply—Government policy. 2. Water supply--International cooperation. 3. Water resources development—Government policy. 4. Water resources development--International cooperation. I. Title.

HD1691.R53 2014 333.91—dc23 2013043021

Printed on recycled, acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Island Press would like to thank the New Mexico Water Initiative, a project of the Hanuman Foundation, for generously supporting the production of this book.

Keywords Island Press, water scarcity, water shortage, water stress, water conservation, water governance, water entitlements, water rights, water allocation, water budget, water economics, water markets, water sustainability, water policy, water privatization, water planning, droughts, desalination, water importation, water transfers, water withdrawals, consumptive use, irrigation efficiency, water reuse, water recycling, reservoirs, watershed, aquifer, groundwater, water cycle, river conservation, freshwater ecosystems, environmental flow, High Plains Aquifer, MurrayDarling Basin, Colorado River