Water Use In West Declining,
Even As Population Increases

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. —(AP)— Water consumption in the West is declining because of more efficient use by agriculture and industries, a federal hydrologist says.

Speaking at the Western Regional Instream Flow conference last Thursday, Pamela Case said the lowered water consumption comes at a time when 15 urban areas in the West, including Denver, are growing dramatically.

"People are actually starting to withdraw less water," said Case, a U.S. Forest Service hydrologist and social scientist. "This is due to increased efficiencies in agriculture and industries and conservation programs."

"We have this picture of rapid human growth in the West ... and almost no change in water withdrawal patterns," Case said.

The conference at Copper Mountain, which concluded Friday, brought together water managers, government officials and environmentalists to discuss competing needs for the West's most valuable resource.

The conference was focused on the effectiveness and consequences of establishing minimum in-stream flows — the least amount of water needed to maintain river life.

"I do think that we will find a balance, but I'm here to tell, it's going to be very, very difficult to do that," Case said.

Held every three years at varying locations, the conference has served to open discussions between competing interests, said David Nickum, conservation director for Trout Unlimited, a sponsor of the event.

"The magnitude of the human wake in this equation is staggering," Case said. "In the last 25 years, the population in the West has grown by about 33 percent, a huge influx of people. In the next 25 years, this pattern will continue."

Most of that population is concentrated in places such as Denver; Boise, Idaho; and Las Vegas — termed "urban archipelagoes" to signify that they are "islands" of development in the vast West.

But even with population growth, Southern California has seen a decrease in water consumption, a condition replicated to lesser degrees in other places in the West, Case said.