June 2, 2015

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on June 2 to assess drought conditions and water challenges in the western United States. Due to record low snowfalls and rapid population growth across the West, the hearing stressed the need for flexibility, collaboration, and innovation.

Decisions about water resource allocations are notoriously controversial. For example, current water use policy for the Colorado River mandates that in times of drought Arizona and Nevada must reduce their water consumption before California. Thomas Buschatzke, Director of the Water Planning Commission within the Arizona Department of Natural Resources, stressed the need for such policies to be reevaluated.

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) raised concerns about the effects the present and future droughts will have on wildfires in the West. Buschatzke cited the impacts of runoff from forest fires on water treatment costs and storage capacity in reservoirs.

James Ogsbury of the Western Governors’ Association argued that greater dissemination of water resource data from federally funded sources such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey is critical to drought response for Western states.

Sources: Senate Energy and Natural Resources, E&E News