Cash Flows

Thirst Gap: Learning to Live with Less on the Colorado River

Farmers and ranchers use the vast majority of the Colorado River’s water. Getting them to voluntarily use less is difficult. The West’s water rights system incentivizes farmers to use all of their water to prevent their rights from losing value. Trying to balance the region’s water supply and demand will require farmers to use less. In this episode we visit western Colorado’s Grand Valley, an irrigated green pocket in the desert famous for its peach orchards. The area was the testing ground for experimental conservation programs that would pay farmers to dry up some of their land in an effort to boost the river’s flagging reservoirs.

This episode features interviews with Troy Waters, a western Colorado farmer who relies on Colorado River water to irrigate his fields, and his son Calvin, who is preparing to take over the family farm. Plus, conversations with former Grand Valley Water Users Association general manager Mark Harris, and the association’s current general manager, Tina Bergonzini, about experimental conservation programs tested in the valley.