Geography 4501

Water Resources and Management in the U.S. West     

University of Colorado, Boulder                            Guggenheim Geography Room 205

Spring Semester 2008                                                                      2:00- 2:50 M-W-F                                                  

Instructor: Dr. Paul Lander                                                  Email: plander@colorado.edu

Phone: 303. 413. 7407                                          Office hours: Gugg Room 203 W 3-3:30

                                                                                                                  or by appointment

 

Course Description

Water is a fundamental resource that is, and has been, a key factor in the political and social development of the western U.S.  The unique distribution, timing, quantity, and quality of western water all have combined to create a dynamic tension in the management of this resource so critical to the future sustainability of the region.

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the concepts, issues and problems of western water resources and management so that students can make their own evaluation of water issues.  The topics to be addressed include:

            1.  The physical attributes of water resources, including the unique attributes of:                                                                                                                             Q         Q         quality, quantity, timing, and distribution                                          T          D

            2. The social attributes of water management:

                        values, law & policy, scales of control, philosophies, values, economics

Material for the course will be presented through lectures, videos, slides, and guest speakers and analyzed through group interaction, book reviews, and student presentations.  Students are encouraged to participate actively during discussion periods.

Textbooks:  1) Geography 4501 Course Reader

Additional readings may be placed on reserve during the semester.

Grading

Examinations: there will be a midterm and a cumulative final, both of which will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay questions.

Resource summary: there will be one resource summary assignment, to be completed by each student and due at the end of the fourth week of class. The purpose of this project is to analyze one particular resource’s presentation of a western water issue: book; scientific article of at least 10 pages; video of 30 min or more;  Each report is to include:

            * Main message(s)                                           * Primary audience.

            * Author/director’s perspective/background/experience on the issue.

            * What the work contributes to the understanding of western water resources.

            * Your response/reaction to the book.

            * Your report is to be a minimum of 1000 words and a maximum of 1100 words, including at least three citations/quotes  from the book/article/video.

Presentations:  Each student will participate in a group presentation of a water issue from one western state.  Each 30-minute, team presentation will include:

            * The state: geography and water resources

             * The current water issue you’re addressing

            * Background information (scope of issue, history, stakeholders, etc.)

            * Your group’s suggestion of how to best address the issue.

            * 5-page paper outlining the key elements of the project

            with participation in both elements by all members of the group.

Grading scheme

·        Midterm exam                                       30%

·        Final exam                                             30%

·    Presentation                                                        25%

·        Resource report                                      15%

 

Academic Dishonesty: It is my policy to penalize anyone who engages in "academic dishonesty" with course failure. Academic dishonesty includes, among other offenses, plagiarism of the writing of others, cheating on exams, falsification and fabrication of data, and submitting the assignments or papers of others as your own.

Disabilities Assistance

Any student eligible for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a disability is requested to speak to me no later than the end of the second full week of classes.

The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities.  Students should notify the Counselor for Students with Disabilities, Disability Services Office, located in Willard 322 (phone 303-492-8671) and their instructors of any special needs.  If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met.  You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Services Office in Willard 322 (phone 303-492-8671).

This University abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap."  Disabilities covered by law include but are not limited to learning disabilities and hearing, sight or mobility impairments.  If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me or the Coordinator of Services to students with disabilities in the Disability Services Office, Willard 322 (phone 303-492-8671), so that such accommodations may be arranged.

I encourage students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, psychiatric disabilities, to discuss with me, after class or during my office hours, appropriate accommodations.

Religious Observances

If conflicts arise between class meetings, assignment deadlines, or examinations and holidays or celebrations observed by your religion, please notify me during the first week of the class so that suitable schedule accommodations can be made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

Date    Topic               Speaker           on 2nd line: Readings or assignments due                               1-30

 

Class                                                                                                                                                  

 

Jan 14  Introductions: course, class, syllabus, semester

                                   

Jan 16  Intro: class expectations and overview

 

Jan 18  Physical Elements: QQTF

                                   

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Jan 21  HOLIDAY

                       

Jan 23  Watershed Science                  Suzanne Anderson, NOAA

                                   

Jan 25  Water Management in the 21st Century

                                    Gleick ‘

-----------          -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Jan 28  History of Societies & Water Management

                                    Worster

Jan 30  cont’d

 

Feb 1   Western Water Law                Mark Squillace, NatResLawCtr-CU Law School

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Feb 4   Western Water Law

                                    Citizens Guide to Colorado Water Law (by Hobbs)

 

Feb 6   Water Governance

                                    Wescoat & White

 

Feb 8   River Science & Policy

                                    Graf ’91 (’93)

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -

Feb 11 Boulder Creek Watershed      Sheila Murphy, USGS    USGS Boulder Watershed Report

                                   

Feb 13 Political Ecology & Water      Bob Crifasi, City of Boulder Open Space & Mt Parks

                                    Crifasi – Thoughts on Stock Pond

 

Feb 15 Western Water Commission

                                    Fort

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Feb 18 Water Management in the West

                                    MacDonnell Ch. 23,24, 29

 

Feb 20 cont’d

 

Feb 22 Integrated Management         

                                    Kenney                                    BOOK/ARTICLE REVIEW DUE IN CLASS

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Feb 25 How Much Water Does a River Need?

                                    Postel & Richter; National Research Council

 

Feb 27 The Changing West

                                    Bates and others.

 

Feb 29 Water for the Gunnison          Bart Miller, Western Resource Advocates

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Mar 3   Review

 

Mar 5   MID TERM

 

Mar 7   Environmental Flows              Drew Peternell & John Roach, Trout Unlimited: Western Water Proj.

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

 

Mar 10 Water Management in Arid Regions

                                    Colby

 

Mar 12 Water Resources Planning      Esther Vincent, Northern Water

 

Mar 14 Outreach & Education                        Curry Rosato, City of Boulder

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

 

Mar 17 River Systems

                                    Adler

 

Mar 19 Social Sciences & Water Management

                                    Cortese; Freeman

 

Mar 21 Idaho Case Study                   Chuck Howe, Prof. Emeritus-Economics CU

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

 

Mar 24-28                   SPRING BREAK

 

Mar 31 Climate Issues                                    

                                    Lewis

Apr 2   Culture and Values in Arid Regions            Presentation Review

                                    Burmil; Morris; Poyner

 

Apr 4   Urban Water Use in the West             Taryn Hutchins-Cabibi, Western Resource Adv.

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

Apr 7   Urban landscapes and culture

                                    Saarinen; McPherson & Haip

 

Apr 9

 

Apr 11

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

 

Apr 14

 

Apr 16

 

Apr 18

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

 

Apr 21 Presentations:  UT and NMx

 

Apr 23 Presentations: ID-WY and CA-S

 

Apr 25 Presentations:  NV and WA

----------            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -                      

 

Apr 28 Presentations: AZ and CA-N

 

Apr 30 Presentations: MT and OR

 

May 2  Review

 

May 3  FINAL                       

 

UT             UT                             NM                              MT                              OR                              ID-WY

                  Barber                        Moskal                        Beehler                        Matthews                    Metzger

Beach         Beach                        John                            Sale                             Bensard                       Pitcairn

Kunz          Kunz                          DeShazo                     Robertson                    Stingley                       Cavanaugh

Maggart      Maggart                    Vannostrand                Evans                          Griesemer                    Tempel

Peacock

 

 

CA-S         CA-S                        NV                              WA                             AZ                               CA-N

Rantz          Rantz                       Drozd                          Jager                            Meyer                          Reineke

Elmore        Elmore                     Eiler                             Michaels                      Johnson                       Byers

Bevan         Bevan                       Zentner                        Banducci                     Nielsen                        McGowan

Hershner     Hershner                  Nelson                         Sullivan                       Mackenzie                   Ellis

Schneider    Schneider                Gertner                        Chalbaud                     Ebert                           Daniels

 

 

Readings:      

1) Book excerpts

 

In Adler, Robert W.  2007.  Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems.  Covelo, CA: Island Press. [ Ch. 5: Down the Great Unknown…; Ch. 9:  The Lovely and the Usable…]

 

In Bates, Sarah F., and others.  1993.  Searching Out the Headwaters.  Change and Rediscovery in Western Water Policy.  Covelo, CA: Island Press.  [ Ch. 1: The West’s Gordian Knot; Ch. 2: Water in a Changing West; Map on page 92; Ch. 8: Change and Rediscovery in Western Water]

 

In Colby, Bonnie G. and Katherine L. Jacobs.  2007.  Arizona Water Policy.  Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future. [ Ch. 1: Water Management Challenges in an Arid Region; Ch. 15: Lessons for Semi-Arid Regions Facing Growth and Competition for Water]

 

In Conzen, M. ed.  1990.  The Making of the American Landscape  [ Ch. 10: Challenging the American Desert].  Unwin Hyman.

 

In Gleick, Peter H. and others.  2003.  Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California.  Oakland, CA: Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security. [ Executive Summary]

In Gleick, Peter H. and others. 2003.  The World’s Water 2002-2003: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources.  Covelo, CA: Island Press.  [Ch. 1: (Wolff & Gleick) The Soft Path for Water; Ch. 6: (Cohen) Managing Across Boundaries…]

 

In Gleick, Peter H. and others. 2004.  The World’s Water: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources.  Covelo, CA: Island Press.  [Data Table 20: U.S. Population & Water Withdrawals, 1900 to 2000; Data Table 21: U.S. Econ. Productivity of Water, 1900 to 2000; Water Units, Data Conversions and Constants]       

 

In Kenney, Douglas S.  2005.  In Search of Sustainable Water Management.  Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. [Ch. 3: Integrating environmental and other values in water allocation and management decisions; Ch. 6: Sustainability and the future of western water law.]

 

In Leopold, Luna B.  1994.  A View of the River.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Ch. 6: Rivers of the World]

                                               

In Lewis, William M.  2003. Water and Climate in the Western United States .  Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.  [Ch. 9:  (E. Stakhiv) What Can Water Managers Do…;  Ch. 13:  (B. Travis) A Changing Geography…; Ch. 15  (J. Loomis & others) Economic and Institutional Strategies…]

           

 In MacDonnell, Lawrence J.  1999.  From Reclamation to Sustainability: Water, Agriculture, and the Environment in the American West.  Boulder, CO: University of Colorado Press.  [Ch. 23: The Salmon; Ch. 24: Taking Stock; Ch. 29: Getting There]

 

In National Research Council.  2005.  Endangered and Threatened Species of the Platte River.  Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. [Pages 7-18]

 

In Postel, Sandra and Brian Richter.  2003.  Rivers for Life.  Managing Water for People and Nature.  Covelo, CA: Island Press.  [Ch.2: How Much Water Does a River Need?; Ch. 3: The Policy Toolbox]                                                                                      

           

In Wescoat, James L., Jr, and Gilbert F. White.  2003.  Water for Life. Water Management and Environmental Policy.  New York: Cambridge University Press. 

[Ch. 11: Decision Processes; Ch. 12: Integrative Approaches]

           

In Worster, Donald.  1985.  Rivers of Empire.  New York: Oxford University Press. 

[Ch 2; Ch 6; Ch. 7]

           

2) Articles- Available Online through Norlin: ‘Find It at CU’ or Google Scholar

 

Burmil, Shmuel and others.  1999.  Human values and perceptions of water in arid landscapes.  Landscape and Urban Planning, 44: 99-109.

 

Colorado Foundation for Water Education.  2000. Hobbs, G.  Citizens Guide to Colorado Water Law.  Denver, CO: Colorado Foundation for Water Education.

 

Cortese, Charles F.  1999.  The Social Context of Western Water Development.  Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 35: 567-578.

 

Freeman, David. M.  2000.  Wicked Water Problems: Sociology and Local Water Organizations in Addressing Water Resources Policy.  Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 36: 483-491.

 

Fort, Denise D.   1999.  The Western Water Commission: Watershed Management Receives The Attention of a New Generation.  Journal of the American Water Resources Association  35: 223-232.

 

Gleick, Peter H.  2000.  The Changing Water Paradigm, A Look at Twenty-first Century Water Resources Development.  Water International, 25: 127-138.

 

Graf, William L.  1991.  Science, public policy, and western American rivers.  Transactions Institute of British Geographers, 17: 5-19.

 

Graf, William L  1993.  Landscapes, Commodities, and Ecosystems: The Relationship Between Policy and Science for American Rivers.  In Sustaining Our Water Resources.  Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

 

McPherson, E. Gregory and R. A. Haip.  1989.  Emerging Desert Landscape in Tucson.  Geography Review, 79: 435-449.

 

Morris, Robert and others.  1997.  Urbanization and Water Conservation in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada.  Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, May/June 1997, pp. 189-195.

 

Poyner, Ann Marie.  1998.  Watering Las Vegas.  Geography, 83: 37-45.

 

Saarinen, Thomas F.  1988.  Public Perception of the Desert in Tucson, Arizona.  The Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 5: 197-207.