This project explores alternative Colorado River water supply and river management strategies. Our goals are threefold:
This project is being conducted in recognition of the impending re-negotiation of the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Formal discussion of those Guidelines is to begin in 2020. The Future of the Colorado River (FCR) project is organized within the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) currently focuses primarily on downstream resources, particularly in the Grand Canyon, without fully accounting for the diverse environmental and societal values across the entire Colorado River sys... Suggesting an alternative approach to achieve needed flexibility through adaptive management. The rules of reservoir release be reconsidered every few years. The reconsideration would be based on the status of reservoir storage, ecosystem, river resource,... This paper provides an analysis of the accuracy and bias of the 24-Month Study projections for future Lake Powell inflows and elevations and finds that in some years, the most probable projected inflows were higher than what actually occurred by as much a... This White Paper is designed to encourage wide-ranging and innovative thinking about how to sustainably manage the water supply, while simultaneously encouraging the negotiators of new agreements to consider their effects on ecosystems. Effective water-supply negotiation and river management are best served if Colorado River stakeholders are mindful of the precision and accuracy of the many components of the hydrologic cycle that affect the water supply. Long-range planning of the water supply provided by the Colorado River requires realistic assessments of the impact of a continuation of the current drought that began in 2000, of extreme future droughts, and the long-term and decline in watershed runoff.... A white paper where describing how Colorado River stakeholders face many uncertainties—issues like climate change, future water demand, and evolving ecological priorities—and are looking for new tools to help cope. A new white paper is the first of a series of papers to be produced by the Future of the Colorado River Project that explore alternative management strategies for the Colorado River that might provide benefit to water-supply users and to river ecosystems.... The Fill Mead First (FMF) plan would establish Lake Mead reservoir as the primary water storage facility of the main-stem Colorado River and would relegate Lake Powell reservoir to a secondary water storage facility to be used only when Lake Mead is full....
White Paper 9. It is Time to Expand the Geography of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program
White Paper 8. Rethinking Management of the Colorado River through Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, and Lake Mead
White Paper 7. Evaluating the Accuracy of Reclamation’s 24-Month Study Lake Powell Projections
White Paper 6: Alternative Management Paradigms For The Future Of The Colorado And Green Rivers
White Paper 5: Stream Flow And Losses Of The Colorado River In The Southern Colorado Plateau
White Paper 4: The Future Hydrology Of The Colorado River Basin
White Paper 3: Strategies For Managing The Colorado River In An Uncertain Future
White Paper 2: Water Resource Modeling Of The Colorado River: Present And Future Strategies
White Paper 1: Fill Mead First: A Technical Assessement
Professor Emeritus, Janet Quinney Lawson Chair in Colorado River Studies
