TY - JOUR
T1 - Policy deficiencies and contingency plans
T2 - groundwater management implications for baseflow contributions to the Colorado River
AU - Perry, Denielle
AU - Swanson, Riley K.
AU - Springer, Abraham E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 Perry, Swanson and Springer.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The Colorado River is a vital water source for the western United States, yet the river is governed by disjointed and outdated policies that have left water management fragmented and water quantities overallocated. Groundwater is an overlooked component of Colorado River Basin (CRB) water supplies, making it vulnerable to overuse from disparities in uncoordinated protective management strategies. In this study, we analyzed state level groundwater policies to reveal the diversity and efficacy of groundwater governance mechanisms. The existing groundwater management plans for each state throughout the basin are fragmented and limited in scope. We found that with policies only covering 22% of the basin, they do not provide adequate protection at the basin scale for the sustainable use of groundwater resources in the face of increasing demands, creating a positive feedback loop that reinforces the scarcity issue. We conclude that a comprehensive management plan that can fully address resource use throughout the CRB is necessary for the sustainable use of groundwater and its contribution to base flow in the Colorado River. We suggest that such a plan could be derived through an interstate compact like the Colorado River Compact that is used for surface water management.
AB - The Colorado River is a vital water source for the western United States, yet the river is governed by disjointed and outdated policies that have left water management fragmented and water quantities overallocated. Groundwater is an overlooked component of Colorado River Basin (CRB) water supplies, making it vulnerable to overuse from disparities in uncoordinated protective management strategies. In this study, we analyzed state level groundwater policies to reveal the diversity and efficacy of groundwater governance mechanisms. The existing groundwater management plans for each state throughout the basin are fragmented and limited in scope. We found that with policies only covering 22% of the basin, they do not provide adequate protection at the basin scale for the sustainable use of groundwater resources in the face of increasing demands, creating a positive feedback loop that reinforces the scarcity issue. We conclude that a comprehensive management plan that can fully address resource use throughout the CRB is necessary for the sustainable use of groundwater and its contribution to base flow in the Colorado River. We suggest that such a plan could be derived through an interstate compact like the Colorado River Compact that is used for surface water management.
KW - aquifer management
KW - base flow
KW - Colorado River Compact
KW - groundwater governance
KW - interbasin management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203801981&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85203801981&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1444015
DO - 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1444015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85203801981
SN - 2296-665X
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Environmental Science
JF - Frontiers in Environmental Science
M1 - 1444015
ER -