From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):
When it comes to water, cities have always been easy targets for environmental groups looking to make a point about conservation and growth. But in reality, agricultural stakeholders bring far more chips to the table. By some estimates, agriculture uses about 75 percent of the Colorado River’s allocated water, while municipal uses account for about 15 percent. Just California’s Imperial Valley, where most of the country’s winter produce is grown, uses about 3 million acre feet of water annually. Any solution to the projected 3.2 million acre-foot water gap in the Colorado River Basin will require buy-in from farmers and ranchers in the region…
The big question that often remains unspoken is how much water will be transferred from agriculture to other uses, needed to sustain continued population growth in the West, as well as environmental needs for ecosystems and endangered fish, as well as recreational flows (rafting and fishing) that help sustain a fast-growing sector in the region…
“We need to change the way we view water rights to allow partial transfers … Right now, the the incentives are for agriculture to use as much water as they can,” [Mark] Squillace said, adding that there’s no incentive to switch to crops that require less water. Adjusting the system so that a farmer who has been growing alfalfa for 10 years could grow barley or soy beans (requiring less water) and market the “extra” water could yield significant water savings, he explained. Another option could be to create incentives that would benefit farmers if they decide to fallow 20 percent of their fields each year, he said. “But right now, there’s no incentive for any farmer to do this … One of the things that frustrates me about this is, the focus seems to be with what the scientists, what the engineers are trying to do to save water.
But water laws are a significant barrier — you’ve got to fix the law,” he said. “There’s not not enough recognition of the legal and policy changes that are needed,” he said. “Politically, you’re not going to solve this problem on the backs of the farmers. The best option might be to make it voluntary for farmers to redefine water rights.”