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Operation of the Colorado River System

In this paper, I will present my personal views about the operation of the Colorado River system and why I believe the operational philosophy of the river is working. I must stress that I do not represent the official views of the federal or state organizations involved in the operation of the river. Rather I am an academic who has been fortunate to work on various efforts to model the operation of the Colorado River for almost 20 years. During that time, I have worked with representatives of both state and federal agencies in the basin. I often teach about the Colorado River system in my graduate classes at Colorado State University and I feel this basin is an excellent case study for understanding complex operational issues of large river basins. It is an example of how federal and state governments have balanced competing pressures and demand and developed a shared operational process. The paper is organized to begin with some history of the operational legislation for the river. The current shared governance operational system is directly related to this legislation, as well as, the underlying political system of the USA. It can only be objectively evaluated within that context. Next, the paper will discuss the operational philosophy of the system and describe how the system is administered. It will discuss who makes the operational decisions, what is decided and when are these decisions made. Then the scientific tools used to support the operational process will be described. It is important to appreciate the value of reliable, scientifically based information for such a complex, contentious basin. Finally, I will summarize the experiences to date, look ahead to future challenges facing the river, and provide my suggestions for the application of shared governance operations to other rivers, such as the Han River Basin. I have included a reference section that provides references to materials available on the Internet, so that more detailed information can easily be retrieved by interested parties.