Five newsrooms unpack five water myths
Recently at Aspen Journalism, we published a story explaining one of Colorado’s most famous water law doctrines: use it or lose it. This concept looms large not only in the minds of water users, but also the general public. It’s probably one of the best-known water adages, shorthand for the concept of abandonment, which means water rights holders must put their water to use or risk losing it. But the reality is a lot more complicated and misunderstandings of the nuances persist.
This story breaks it down for readers and was part of a five-part series on water myths, which featured, along with Aspen Journalism, the work of journalists who cover the Colorado River from the CU Water Desk, the Colorado Sun, KUNC and Freshwater News. The stories tackled common questions and persistent myths that recur in our reporting, like:
If cities are growing, won’t they need a lot more water?
If agriculture uses the majority of water, can’t they just cut back?
Can we use desalination as a solution to drinking water shortages?
And the ever-popular: Why can’t we just pipe in water from the East?
This collaboration culminated in a panel discussion at the Colorado SunFest on Sept. 28 at the University of Denver. This was a fun event, and I can’t say enough about how smart and thorough my colleagues’ work was on this project. So dive into the stories above and dispel those myths.
The four “U’s” of tribal water
Aspen Journalism also published a story this week looking at the continuing struggle facing Colorado River basin tribes to benefit from their vast — but sometimes undeveloped, unquantified, unused and/or uncompensated — water rights. At the Colorado River District seminar on Sept. 20, Southern Ute Indian Tribe Vice-Chair Lorelei Cloud broke the news in an emotional panel presentation that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would not be including tribal forbearance projects in the next round of water conservation funding. Both tribes and Colorado officials had believed this funding would be available to tribes and were deeply frustrated with what they say are Reclamation’s broken commitments. Forbearance would pay tribes to hold off on developing some of the water they are entitled to. Water unused by tribes in the upper basin has been propping up the Colorado River system for decades without compensation to tribes and Cloud says she is tired of tribes always being the loser. Bureau officials didn’t directly address the accusation that they walked back a determination that forbearance would be included in an upcoming round of drought relief funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act, but said they are committed to addressing tribal water issues in a manner that works for each tribe’s unique situation and for basin as a whole.
Thanks as always for reading and supporting Aspen Journalism, making it possible for us to bring you expert and in-depth coverage of the most critical water issues in the Colorado River basin.
— Heather Sackett
Water Desk Editor and AJ Managing Editor
Aspen Journalism
Feds rule that next round of drought relief funding won’t cover tribes’ unused water
Tribal and state officials say Reclamation walked back support for forbearance payments
Heather Sackett | October 4, 2024
Forbearance underscores the tension between the basin’s need to live with less water and the tribes’ need to benefit from their water rights.
Colorado’s water users are told ‘use it or lose it.’ But is the threat real?
The old water law adage doesn’t capture just how difficult it is to lose a water right. And state policy limits the pool of possibly abandoned water even further.
Heather Sackett | October 2, 2024
Although the concept of abandonment may loom large in the minds of water users, only a tiny percentage of water rights ends up on the abandonment list every 10 years, and it’s rare for the state to formally abandon a water right.
AJ and Aspen Public Radio partner on multimedia Social Justice Desk staffed by Eleanor Bennett
Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio are dedicated to this collaboration, working to deliver in-depth and investigative reporting that empowers community.
October 1, 2024
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