http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/18244984

Water use conflicts in the West : implications of reforming the Bureau of Reclamation's water supply policies

Conflict among water users is part of the history of the American West. Environmentalists, who want water to be left in the rivers to preserve threatened species, are now competing with urban and agricultural users for the West's limited water resources. Native American water rights, long ignored, are also receiving more attention. The federal government is a key player in western water. Developing new sources of water has long been the focus of the Bureau of Reclamation. But the federal government now focuses more on the fair and efficient allocation and use of existing supplies. Policy changes that could serve as models for changes throughout the West are being put in place in parts of California served by the Central Valley Project. In response to a request from the Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Resources, this study analyzes the policy tools slated for use in California, estimates the costs of those reforms to agriculture in the state, and discusses the implications of using those policy tools in the rest of the West.

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