We need courage to change course on the Colorado River (Opinion)

The Colorado River is in problem The seven basin states just blew through a heavily anticipated deadline to announce a new deal on how they would divide up a dwindling fund Meanwhile Lake Mead and Lake Powell are teetering on the brink of collapse and Mother Nature couldn t care less about politics or posturing It s time to call out an uncomfortable truth The system is broken When the Colorado River Compact was signed in the Upper and Lower Basins made promises to each other that they can t keep in an era of setting change drought and increased competition for our precious supplies of water Both basins cling to their entitlements under the Compact like they are lifeboats on a sinking ship The Upper and Lower Basins each believe they are entitled to million acre feet per year under the Compact yes it s complicated In recent days however the Colorado has only produced million acre feet per year with even lower dips There is a glaring math issue and it s obvious that neither basin is going to get everything it wants in this new era of aridification We had hoped that the hard-working well-intentioned people representing the states could figure out how to negotiate around these flaws in the Compact We had hoped that the Department of the Interior might forge a demanding compromise And we had hoped that we would occasionally get a lot of snow to cover up all this dysfunction Now it s quite clear those are unrealistic hopes While a deal is still workable it seems unlikely to solve the long-term conflict As long as the Upper and Lower Basins hold fast to their presumed entitlements we ll likely be managing a predicament on the Colorado River This dilemma calls out for courageous leadership and a change of syllabus We need to revisit the allocation of water under the Compact After all it s been more than years maybe it s time for a tune-up The seven governors from the basin states need to sit down in a room and change discipline to figure out we are going to live together in the Colorado River basin for the next hundred years They need to set aside their entitlements And they should be joined by a highly skilled and trusted neutral facilitator charged with brokering a deal Then they should direct their representatives to fix the Compact We should honor them for trying and reserve a place in history for their eventual success This would also provide a historic opportunity to incorporate the rights of the Tribes into an updated Compact If we continue floating adrift the Supreme Court will eventually be forced to do it for us That process will be painful expensive and slow It could take decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars The river won t wait In the interim the Secretary of the Interior may have to make a few very tough decisions in managing the system Both basins must share in this pain And the fourteen U S senators from these seven states must convince Congress to provide more money bridge funding if you will to help ease the pain until the governors figure this out It will be much more arduous for our kids to solve this challenge in twenty or thirty years Every time we kick the can down the road we make it that much harder for the next generation to run a family farm to enjoy nature or just to drink a glass of clean water Harry Truman who had a role in the history of the Colorado River once declared that in periods where there is no leadership society stands still Progress occurs when courageous skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better The Colorado River and the million people who depend on it are desperate for courageous people to lead us in a program correction Chris Winter is the executive director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Guidance Vigor and the Atmosphere at the University of Colorado Law School Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns editorials and more To send a letter to the editor about this article submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail