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Colby, Bonnie ¹

¹ University of Arizona

Inter-annual variability in regional precipitation patterns has long posed a challenge for western U.S. water managers and water users concerned with supply reliability. Climate change exacerbates this challenge through higher temperatures’ effects on ET and water consumption and through shifts in precipitation variability, seasonality and occurrence of extreme events. This talk examines the efficacy of innovative strategies to reduce the impacts of climate change on water use sectors through voluntary water banking, exchange and transfer agreements. A “menu” of supply reliability arrangements implemented in the U.S and Australia is presented, followed by discussion of efficacy, relative cost and applicability to Colorado’s current water management challenges.