Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Resource Shortage
Water rights aside, there are still more variables. Access to the
water also can change depending on current climate conditions,
the amount of water available, and whether conditions are such
that the water can even be distributed as allocated by the water
rights. Climate change and drought fi gure into the equation
because drought can affect the successful transportation of water
to the owners of its primary rights. Remember Colorado rancher
John Gandomcar, whom we talked about earlier? On one of his
properties, he has junior rights to a set amount of water that runs
in a nearby creek. However, Gandomcar's rights are secondary to
those of the senior rights holder—a farmer miles down the creek.
Therefore, if water is in short supply, Gandomcar is out of luck.
Or is he? What happens if the Eastern Plains of Colorado—and
the farmer's fi elds—are parched by drought, and the farmer with
senior water rights “calls” the river? That means he demands, or
calls for
his water allocation to be delivered via the creek as dictated
by his senior rights. But because the air and land—including the
often-empty creek bed and surrounding ground—are so dry,
the water won't be able to make it to its rightful owner, despite his
senior rights. So Gandomcar's secondary rights win out because
he's closer to the source and therefore can utilize the water as
opposed to wasting it.
That's what's known as a
futile call
, says Tuthill. The senior rights
holder calls on someone else's junior right, but curtailing or tak-
ing away the junior right does not result in any improvement in the
water right for the senior. “It would be futile for the downstream
senior right holder to shut off the upstream junior because the
water wouldn't get there anyway,” Tuthill adds.
Confused yet? It gets more complicated.
Overallocated
The overextended Colorado and Rio Grande river basins are
prime examples of the perfect storm—the water battle waiting
to explode—when it comes to water rights in the West. A total of
18 million acre-feet of annual Colorado River water fl ow has been
