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ABSTRACT Deep within the earth there exist immense reservoirs of energy in the form of heat-commonly referred to as geothermal resources. Unfortunately, most of these resources are at such depths that it is unlikely they will be recoverable in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the lure of seemingly inexhaustible amounts of relatively clean energy continues to hold a fascination for man. In certain limited situations man has already been able to tap these reservoirs and harness the energy to his own uses. More of this activity can be expected in the future. While geothermal energy will chiefly be used to produce electric power, persons responsible for water resources management must concern themselves with geothermal...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: geothermal resources, water law
The impacts of a severe sustained drought on Colorado River system water resources were investigated by simulating the physical and institutional constraints within the Colorado River Basin and testing the response of the system to different hydrologic scenarios. Simulations using Hydrosphere's Colorado River Model compared a 38-year severe sustained drought derived from 500 years of reconstructed streamfiows for the Colorado River basin with a 38-year streamfiow trace extracted from the recent historic record. The impacts of the severe drought on streamfiows, water allocation, storage, hydropower generation, and salinity were assessed. Estimated deliveries to consumptive uses in the Upper Basin states of Colorado,...
ABSTRACT Deep within the earth there exist immense reservoirs of energy in the form of heat-commonly referred to as geothermal resources. Unfortunately, most of these resources are at such depths that it is unlikely they will be recoverable in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the lure of seemingly inexhaustible amounts of relatively clean energy continues to hold a fascination for man. In certain limited situations man has already been able to tap these reservoirs and harness the energy to his own uses. More of this activity can be expected in the future. While geothermal energy will chiefly be used to produce electric power, persons responsible for water resources management must concern themselves with geothermal...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: geothermal resources, water law
We evaluated the effects of institutional responses developed for coping with a severe sustained drought (SSD) in the Colorado River Basin on selected system variables using a SSD inflow hydrology derived from the drought which occurred in the Colorado River basin from 1579-1616. Institutional responses considered are reverse equalization, salinity reduction, minimum flow requirements, and temporary suspension of the delivery obligation of the Colorado River Compact. Selected system variables (reservoir contents, streamflows, consumptive uses, salinity, and power generation) from scenarios incorporating the drought-coping responses were compared to those from Baseline conditions using the current operating criteria....
Existing legal regimes for the management of water resources are already stressed by changing technologies and growing populations. There is little reason for doubt that today the planet is undergoing significant and even alarming climate change. In the past such global climatic changes had dramatic effects on water resource availability with disastrous consequences for many human communities. Today's climate changes can be managed without such disastrous consequences for present day communities only if there are major reforms to existing water law regimes at the local, national, and international levels. In particular, at the local and national levels, water resources must be treated as public property rather than...
The arid Southwest of the United States is confronted with increasing water demands and a limited resource. Past efforts to meet water demand have been directed toward development of scarce water resources. While development programs have been successful in stretching available supply, few feasible development options remain. Furthermore, heavy water utilization has affected water quality within drainage basins. It seems likely that water management will play a much more significant role in water resource allocation in the future. This paper will examine water development activity in the Southwest to date. Attention will be given to several of the problems that have arisen. The paper will then examine water management...
Construction of major dam projects in the Western States requires a re-examination of Indian water rights. Roughly analogous to the nineteenth century problem of Indian land rights, the twentieth century issue of Indian water rights has shifted from water ownership to its best use. Conflicts exist between the western water law of prior appropriation and the Indian rights to the water. The United States Supreme Court addressed the issue in Winters v. United States by holding that the Indian rights controlled over state law. However, the standard for measuring the quantity of water reserved to the Indians was not determined, subsequently causing much conflict. Although the Winters doctrine grants rights to the American...
American agriculture has provided abundant high-energy foods for migratory and resident wildlife populations since the onset of modern wildlife management. Responding to anecdotal evidence that corn residues are declining in cropland, we remeasured waste corn post-harvest in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska during 1997 and 1998 to compare with 1978. Post-harvest waste corn averaged 2.6% and 1.8% of yield in 1997 and 1998, respectively. After accounting for a 20% increase in yield, waste corn in 1997 and 1998 was reduced 24% and 47% from 1978. We also evaluated use of soybeans by spring-staging sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) and waterfowl during spring 1998 and 1999. Despite being widely available...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: geothermal resources, water law
ABSTRACT: The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) restricts federal agencies from carrying out actions that jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species. The U.S. Supreme Court has emphasized that the language of the ESA and its amendments permits few exceptions to the requirement to give endangered species the highest priority. This paper estimates economic costs associated with one measure for increasing instream flows to meet critical habitat requirements of the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. Impacts are derived from an integrated regional model of the hydrology, economics, and institutions of the upper Rio Grande Basin in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. One proposal for providing...
Agreements between states, or compacts, provide a mechanism for resolving transboundary resource issues. The twenty-two compacts allocating the water of rivers among states in the western United States are examined to provide guidance for drafters of future compacts. The method of allocation selected for a compact reflects the state's allocation of the risk of dry years. Allocations based on models have been unsuccessful. Percentage allocations are good for fairly apportioning risk, but conflict with principles of prior appropriation. Guarantees of minimum flows should be used with great care, to avoid any state becoming a guarantor of natural phenomena over which it has no control. Disputes should be anticipated,...
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Profound changes are now occurring in the Colorado River Basin. New societal demands for water are on a collision course with vested legal rights and past commitments. The exploitation of fossil fuels in the area poses great problems for the traditional paramount concerns of reclamation and agriculture. The ' law of the river ' is actually a composite of many statutes, compacts, court decisions, contracts, regulations and administrative rulings. Generally speaking, the flow of the Colorado River is divided among users on the basis of beneficial consumptive use. The allocation system operates at four levels: international, interregional, interstate, and intrastate. Legal problems on the river are partially the function...
The waters of the Colorado River are divided among seven states according to a complex ?Law of the River? drawn from interstate compacts, international treaties, statutes, and regulations. The Law of the River creates certain priorities among the states and the Republic of Mexico, and in the event of a severe sustained drought, the Law of the River dictates the distribution of water and operation of the elaborate reservoir system. Earlier work indicated that there is remarkable resilience in the system for established uses of water in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River. This work shows, based on an application of the Law of the River using computer modeling of operations of facilities on the Colorado River, that...
    map background search result map search result map Impact of energy development on the law of the Colorado River Impact of energy development on the law of the Colorado River