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Compact Compliance As A Beneficial Use: Increasing The Viability Of An Interstate Water Bank Program In The Colorado River Basin, Emily Halvorsen

University of Colorado Law Review

There is a looming problem facing the Colorado River Basin: an increasing likelihood of a compact call on the Upper Basin due to projected climate change and population growth stresses on the Colorado River. To address this problem, water resource managers and natural resource management organizations throughout the Upper Basin have proposed a leading approach of an interstate water bank program. There are three main shortfalls to this though, which do not make the program a viable approach in addressing the problem: (1) legal uncertainty regarding individual water rights; (2) concerns regarding speculation; and (3) lack of incentives for state …