Sharing key to West's water future, report says

The report suggests that water sharing between agricultural producers, cities and environmental interests may be one of the keys to meeting future water supply requirements while also helping to maintain wildlife habitat in some areas, said MaryLou Smith of CSU's Colorado Water Institute, which wrote the report. The report, "Agricultural/ Urban/Environmental Water Sharing: Innovative Strategies for the Colorado River Basin and the West," will be presented to the Western States Water Council, part of the WGA, today in Santa Fe, N.M. The hope is that governors in all 11 western states will add to their Cabinets a water expert who will focus on ways each state's water interests can come together and solve water supply problems through sharing. Water sharing, Smith said, would allow farmers to share some of their water with conservationists or cities, keeping farms active while providing for water to be kept in streams for wildlife or sent to cities for drinking water. It's an alternative to agricultural water transfers, which would require farmers to fallow their land and possibly go out of business in order for their water to be used in growing cities or for wildlife conservation...more