Interdisciplinary Water Resources Seminar
Colorado Water Center Courses at CSU
Each fall the Colorado Water Center offers this interdisciplinary seminar series emphasizing issues important to the water resources community. Content relates to a preselected theme each semester and features prominent speakers from around the region. Students who have enrolled in GRAD592 in the past may also enroll in this offering.
All interested faculty, students, and off-campus guests are welcome to attend.
CRN 64198
Credit Hours: 1
Mondays from 4:00-5:30 PM
Course Instructor:
Jennifer Gimbel | Senior Water Policy Scholar
Colorado Water Center
Jennifer.Gimbel@colostate.edu
Seminar Series Archives
CoWC’s Fall 2020 Interdisciplinary Water Resources Seminar (GRAD 592) will explore the law, governance, and management of western water resources, with a focus on how water policies are formed and instituted and the role played by politics in crafting western water policies and laws. Topics include the role of federal, state, regional and local institutions, the role of science, and how federal reserved rights play in all spheres. The class will be held virtually.
Western Water Law
08/24/2020 • Jennifer Gimbel, Colorado Water Center
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
Citizen's Guide to Colorado Water Law
,
Week 1 Audio,
Week 1 PowerPoint
State Water Institutions & Policy
08/31/2020 • Becky Mitchell, Colorado Water Conservation Board
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
Colorado's Water Plan
,
Week 2 Audio,
Week 2 PowerPoint
Water Institutions: Local & Regional
09/14/2020 • Brad Wind, Northern Water
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
Citizen’s Guide to Where Your Water Comes From
,
Week 3 Audio,
Week 3 PowerPoint
The Making of State Water Laws, Policies, and Politics
09/21/2020 • Jeni Arndt, State Representative, HD 53
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
The Legislative Process
,
Week 4 Audio
Federal Water Law & Institutions
09/28/2020 • Jennifer Gimbel, Colorado Water Center
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
Agencies & Organizations
Recreation: Water Law & Policy
10/05/2020 • Ian Stafford, American Whitewater
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
N/A
Environmental Aspects of Water Policy & Politics
10/12/2020 • Nicole Rowan, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
N/A
State Water Administration
10/19/2020 • Kevin Rein, Colorado State Engineer
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
N/A
Science & Water Policy
10/26/2020 • Brad Udall, Colorado Water Center
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
Washington Post Article
Reserved Water Rights: Law, Policy, and Politics
11/02/2020 • John Echohawk, Native American Rights Fund
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
N/A
Municipal Water Policy & Politics
11/09/2020 • Jim Lochhead, Denver Water
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
N/A
Interstate Water Law, Policy, and Politics
11/16/2020 • Jennifer Gimbel, Colorado Water Center
Required Readings and Seminar Links:
N/A
The Fall 2019 seminar series explored the law, governance, and management of transboundary water resources, including water law throughout the West and especially Colorado. Topics included interstate agreements, decrees governing water distribution, and interstate groundwater issues, with a national water law overlay. The seminar spotlighted four case studies:
- Platte River (Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming)
- High Plains Aquifer (Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas)
- Rio Grande River (Colorado, New Mexico, Texas)
- Colorado River (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Mexico)
Download the 2019 Syllabus
Intro, Western Water Law
08/26/2019 • Jennifer Gimbel, CoWC • Download
Required readings:
N/A
Lower Colorado River Issues, Drought Plans
09/09/2019 • John Entsminger, Southern Nevada Water Authority • Download
Required readings:
The Colorado River
,
Drought Contingency Plans for the Colorado River,
Nevada Water Law 101
Colorado Water Law, Federal Law, Compacts
09/16/2019 • Jennifer Gimbel, CoWC • Download
Required readings:
Citizen's Guide to Colorado Water Law
Wyoming Water Issues: Platte River, Yellowstone River, Colorado River, Groundwater
09/23/2019 • Steve Wolff, Wyoming State Engineer's Office • Download
Required readings:
Drought Contingency Plans for the Colorado River Basin
,
Wyoming's Compacts, Treaties, and Court Decrees
Kansas Water Issues: Arkansas River, Republican River
09/30/2019 • David Robbins, Hill and Robbins P.C.
Required readings:
Groundwater Management: Lessons from Colorado v. Kansas
International Water Issues with Mexico
10/07/2019 • Jennifer Pitt, Autobon; Steve Mumme, Professor, Political Science • Download
Required readings:
The U.S., Mexico And The Decline Of The Colorado River
,
Policy Change and Social Movements in Transboundary Water Management on the U.S.-Mexico Border,
The 1994 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty as a Constitutional Document
Platte River Issues Affecting Colorado
10/14/2019 • Alan Berryman, Assistant General Manager, NCWCD, Berthoud • Download
Required readings:
N/A
Interstate Water Law
10/21/2019 • Jennifer Gimbel, CoWC
Required readings:
Citizen's Guide to Colorado's Interstate Compacts Second Edition by Water Education Colorado
,
Trans-Boundary Agreements,
The 1994 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty as a Constitutional Document
Upper Colorado River Compact and Drought Plans
10/28/2019 • Karen Kwon, Colorado Attorney General's Office • Download
Required readings:
Colorado, Western states finalize landmark drought plan to voluntarily use less Colorado River water
,
Law of the River: The Colorado River Compact
Managing Interstate Compacts in Colorado
11/04/2019 • Kevin Rein, Colorado State Engineer • Download
Required readings:
Vanishing Rio Grande puts pressure on San Luis Valley farmers during extreme drought
,
Rio Grande Issues
The Role of NGO's in Interstate and International Water Issues
11/11/2019 • Ted Kowalski, Senior Program Officer, Walton Family Foundation
Required readings:
Colorado River
,
Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Restoration and Management of Freshwater Ecosystems
New Mexico Water Issues: Rio Grande, Pueblo and Native American Issues; Texas v. New Mexico
11/18/2019 • Rolf Schmidt-Peterson, Director, New Mexico Interstate Streams Commission
Required readings:
Overview of Water Law Applicable to The Middle Rio Grande Water Planning Region
,
No. 141, Orig. Texas v. New Mexico,
NM Interstate Compacts
Politics, Political Will, Bureaucracy
12/02/2019 • Jennifer Gimbel, CoWC
Required readings:
Bravery in the Face of Bureaucracy: The Negotiation and Completion of Minute 319
Water Institutions: Local & Regional
09/14/2020 • Brad Wind, Northern Water
Required readings:
Citizen’s Guide to Where Your Water Comes From
,
Water Center Summary
The Making of State Water Laws, Policies, and Politics
09/21/2020 • Jeni Arndt, State Representative, HD 53
Required readings:
The Legislative Process
Recreation: Water Law & Policy
10/05/2020 • Ian Stanford, American Whitewater
Required readings:
N/A
Environmental Aspects of Water Policy & Politics
10/12/2020 • Nicole Rowan, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
Required readings:
N/A
State Water Administration
10/19/2020 • Kevin Rein, Colorado State Engineer
Required readings:
N/A
Science & Water Policy
10/26/2020 • Brad Udall, Colorado Water Center
Required readings:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/climate-environment/climate-change-colorado-utah-hot-spot/
Reserved Water Rights: Law, Policy, and Politics
11/02/2020 • John Echohawk, Native American Rights Fund
Required readings:
N/A
Municipal Water Policy & Politics
11/09/2020 • Jim Lochhead, Denver Water
Required readings:
N/A
The Fall 2018 seminar series included topics of history and evolution, administration, water court, inter/intrastate compacts, key cases and statutes, water quality, environmental law, and groundwater.
Download the 2018 Syllabus
GRAD 592 2016 recordings and live streams