Sponsored by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Bill Lane Center for the West at Stanford University

Water regimes in the American West, largely the products of 19th-century legal doctrines and 20th-century engineering, are rapidly becoming obsolete. The objective of the Water in the West Dialogue is to foster collaborations between university researchers and water management, water users, and water- policy decision makers that lead to a policy-relevant, multidisciplinary research program appropriate for the next century of development.

As a result of our discussions, the Stanford Freshwater Faculty leadership team has identified four topics that seem to hold the most promise for future work:

1) Balancing environmental and other claims on water supplies;
2) Redesigning infrastructure for distribution, appropriate use, and energy efficiency;
3) Managing water resources in the case of climate change;
4) Best institutional practices.

More information: waterinthewest.stanford.edu