CSU Water Resource Archive: Western Water Symposium focuses on water politics, July 27

Here’s the release from Colorado State University (Kaleigh Maxwell):

This year’s Western Water Symposium and Barbecue, set for July 25 at Morgan Library on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, will focus on the politics of water in the American West. Keynote speaker is Pat Mulroy, senior fellow at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who will discuss the possibility of reshaping water management practices throughout the West.

The day of learning, debate, and informative presentations is hosted by Morgan Library with support from the Colorado Water Institute, and benefits the Colorado State University Water Resources Archive.

The event will begin with registration at 9 a.m. in the Morgan Library lobby and conclude at 6:30 p.m.

DC Jackson, Cornelia F. Hugel Professor of History at Lafayette College and a scholar of the history of Western water, will start off the morning session. In “Engineering Politics in the American West: The St. Francis Dam Disaster and San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy Dam,” he will speak about the separation of dam engineering from politics.

Former Colorado Sen. Hank Brown will follow Jackson with a presentation on “Water: The Key to Improving Colorado’s Environment,” focused on the politics relating to the Cache la Poudre River, which flows through Fort Collins.

The noon barbecue served in the library courtyard will also allow attendees with valuable time to network.

Following lunch, Denver Water’s CEO/Manager Jim Lochhead will start off the afternoon by talking about water allocation throughout the west in “Can Western Water Politics Avoid a Zero Sum Game?”

Mulroy’s presentation, “The Politics of the California Bay Delta: Shaping the Future of the Colorado River,” concludes the talks, and will be followed by an hour-long interactive panel discussion led by Brad Udall, senior water and climate research scientist/scholar at CSU’s Colorado Water Institute. The day will finish up with a reception and tour of Morgan Library’s Archives.

Since 2001, the Colorado State University Water Resources Archive, a joint effort between University Libraries and Colorado Water Institute, has acquired a vast collection of historical pieces that document the role water has played in the development of Colorado and beyond. Through collections, donations, and support, the Archive provides a comprehensive history for researchers of the subject.

Online registration for the 2016 Western Water Symposium and Barbecue is available until the day of the event. General admission tickets cost $100 and student tickets cost $50.

For more information, visit the Archives website.