Peter Mayer

A negotiated agreement would be, by far, the best outcome for everyone.

The reality is that demand management - intentionally using less water- is the only lever that anyone controls at this point. Under a negotiated settlement, each state is in control of the concessions that they choose to make. Under litigation, someone else decides.

The experience convinced me that a negotiated settlement on the Colorado River, even with painful concessions, would be vastly superior to the uncertainty and very real risk of having someone else decide what cuts will be made.

Georgia eventually won a clear an convincing victory, but the outcome was never certain. The case took eight years.

I have worked as an expert witness for the State of Georgia at the US Supreme Court - FL v. GA, 142 Original. I saw first hand just how long the process takes and just how high the stakes are.

How likely is this with the larger populations and economies of California and Arizona balanced on the other side?

In the event of ligation over the Colorado River, the upper basin states - and particularly Colorado and Utah have nothing to gain and much to lose. Achieving the "status quo" would seem the best outcome the upper basin could possibly hope to achieve.

An appointed Special Master and the nine US Supreme Court justices will decide the fate of the Colorado River and everything that depends on it.

Sharing of data and information becomes formalized through the court process. Planning for the future and all growth and development across the entire basin will be impacted because there will suddenly be great uncertainty about the future.

More recent water cases before the Supreme Court have taken 8 - 15 years to resolve.

With litigation comes conflict. The stakes are as high as they could possibly be, literally the lifeblood of each state plus many tribes and the nation of Mexico hangs in the balance.

Without a negotiated agreement, there will soon be a case or perhaps multiple cases filed at the Supreme Court. The last time the Colorado River was litigated, the case took 25 years - Arizona v. California, 376 U.S. 340 (1963).

But, despite years of meetings, a negotiated agreement has been elusive. I hope today's negotiations will be different and a breakthrough reached, but I'm not optimistic.

A negotiated agreement would be, by far, the best outcome for everyone. A negotiated agreement means that everyone, including the upper basin, must make concessions.

Today, governors and water leaders from western states that rely on the Colorado River are meeting in Washington D.C. for a literally last-ditch effort to reach agreement on how to share what is left of this critical, dwindling water supply.

How the Colorado legislature contributed to the state’s budget crisis Nonpartisan staffers told lawmakers this month that the way they spent billions of dollars in one-time federal funds given to Colorado during the COVID pandemic contributed to the state’s budget shortfall

How the Colorado legislature contributed to the state’s budget crisis

Price for northern Colorado dams  soars to $2.7 billion, scaring a key customer as builders scramble to cut plan The cost of the sprawling Northern Integrated Supply Project around Fort Collins soared to $2.7 billion, scaring off a key customer and forcing a cutback.

Price for northern Colorado dams  soars to $2.7 billion, scaring a key customer as builders scramble to cut plan

Really?? Game 7s for the Nuggets and Avs are set for the same time on Saturday. Denver sports fans get no love from NBA or NHL schedulers, but at least modern TV can put both on the screen at the same time.

If you have ever wondered how the leaders of America’s most powerful institutions would react if a would be despot sought to seize power in the US and strip away our most basic freedoms while destroying our economy, national security and institutions…now you know. They’ll roll over and play dead.

Federal judge orders Denver Water to stop Gross Dam construction; Army Corps must rewrite permits Federal judge issues injunction halting Denver Water's Gross Dam expansion, orders rewrite of Army Corps permits.

A federal judge orders construction to stop on Gross Dan expansion and permits re-written.

coloradosun.com/2025/04/03/g...

Made some new friends today at the Growing Gardens dairy.

People have fought to protect the wetlands at CU South for years. It isn’t over.

savetheworldsrivers.org/press-releas...

Tariffs are just like a tax hike. All Americans will soon pay more for essentials like food and cell phones and shoes. Those who can afford it the least will be hit hardest, as usual.

Why? What's the policy objective?

a. $$
b. Piss off Canada and Mexico
c. Putin said do it
d. ____________

More than 1,000 protesting Musk and Trump’s firing of federal workers at NOAA on 3/3/2025.

They Used to Be Disgusting. Donald Trump Loathes Them. They’re Invincible. It's time to flush a dated idea about toilets.

It's time to flush some outdated ideas about toilets.

slate.com/technology/2...

Estimated total water withdrawals in the US (fresh and saline) by sector from 1950 - 2020. Water use has become dramatically more efficient and per capita use has declined steadily over the past 40 years.

Data source: USGS.

Five deer looking at the camera

Five deer staring at something

An attentive herd in Boulder last week.

"the voters decided, by that one-percent margin, that we, as a nation, shall officially cease to believe that we are changing the climate; we’ve given ourselves license to linger in the denial and anger stages – denial that it is happening, and anger at anyone who wants to blame us"

- George Sibley

Kvalvika Beach, Lofoten, Norway

Another favorite shot from 2023 - Kvalvika Beach, Lofoten, Norway.

Lofoten, Norway Beach, mountain and flowers

Ever been to Lofoten, Norway? It's pretty awesome.

Water nerd, 2024.