downtoearth-subscribe

Course correction

Course correction it is not often that riparian states are able to sink their differences and resolve a meandering water-sharing dispute. A breakthrough of this nature was achieved in the us on October 16, when Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, inked the Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement in Nevada. Despite the fact that the pact was inordinately delayed and scepticism prevails about its feasibility, a modest step seems to have been taken to usher in a new era of cooperation on the river.

"The agreement (also known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement or qsa) marks a turning point for California and the Colorado river basin states,' said Norton. Under the deal, California is required to take steps during the next 14 years to reduce its over-dependence on Colorado river and stop dipping into the shares of the six other river basin states

Related Content