Publication | October 20, 2021

Testimony on Colorado River Drought Conditions and Response Measures to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife

Pacific Institute Senior Researcher Michael Cohen submitted written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife for their October 20, 2021 hearing on drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin and potential response measures.

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Posted on Blog | August 16, 2021

Shortage Declaration in the Colorado River Basin Takeaways

Today, the US Secretary of the Interior declared a first-ever Shortage Condition for the Lower Colorado River Basin. After more than 21 years of drought in the western United States intensified by human-caused climate change, the Bureau of Reclamation has released a study projecting that the elevation of Lake Mead will be below an elevation triggering a Tier 1 Shortage Condition that will reduce water access to some users starting in January 2022. It’s a historic move sending reverberations throughout the water policy world — both within the United States and globally.

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Posted on Blog | April 6, 2020

Corporate Water Stewardship in the Colorado River Basin

The Colorado River Basin is the lifeblood of the West, providing water to more than 40 million people in seven U.S. states and two states in Mexico. Irrigation using Colorado River water generates an estimated $8 billion annually in agricultural products like winter vegetables, cotton, and cattle and dairy. In addition, recreation along the river and its tributary streams (boating, swimming, hiking, camping, etc.) contributes $17 billion per year to local economies.

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Publication | February 1, 2020

Op-Ed: Water Scarcity Will Increase Risk of Conflict, Says New National Intelligence Report

On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 116-92), including the Intelligence Authorization Act of FY2020. Section 6722 of that law required a report be prepared on the national security effects of “global water insecurity” and be submitted within 180 days (by late June 2020) to “the congressional intelligence committees, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.”

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Publication | July 10, 2019

When the River Meets the Sea

This presentation on the Salton Sea presented by Michael Cohen at the 2019 GWC Summer Conference covers progress at the sea, the Colorado River and the sea, new bargains, and potential solutions.

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