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The Hydrology of the Colorado River: What We Knew, When We Knew It, and How We Used It

Eric Kuhn

  • Author and Retired General Manager, Colorado River Water Conservation District

Science Be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River is a book about our understanding of the hydrology of the Colorado River.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that the 1922 Colorado River Compact negotiators did the best they could with a limited gauge record, the data they used happened to be during an unusually wet period.

Authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck argue that the politicians, states, and water agencies that shaped the development of the Colorado River had the science available to them to make better decisions, but political expedience prevailed and the science was ignored.

Today, the Colorado River is overused and facing a future where climate change is reducing the Colorado River flows.

As we shape the future of the river, will we learn from our past mistakes or will we continue to ignore inconvenient science?

Join the conversation!

Wednesday, February 12, 2020
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.