Volume 41, No.2, Winter 2022 Archives

Volume 41, No.2, Winter 2022

In the American West, the response to drought has historically been to divert more water, build dams, or pump groundwater. But many of those options are no longer politically or economically feasible. To adapt, western communities are going to have to find ways to do more with less water—and to do so through cooperation instead of conflict.

This special issue of PERC Reports explores the West's water crisis and how markets can address today's shortages.

Down to the Last Drop

Shawn Regan

Can the West adapt to its even drier future?

Pay a Farmer, Save the Colorado?

Tate Watkins

Agriculture uses the vast majority of water in the arid West. Shouldn’t there be simple ways to trade the valuable resource?

How Federal Laws Undermine Native American Water Rights

Leslie Sanchez

Tribes could help bridge gaps between water supply and demand in the Colorado River Basin—if it weren’t for federal restrictions

The Water Beneath the Desert

Andrew B. Ayres

A groundwater market in the Mojave Desert offers lessons for California and beyond

Trout Water

Tim Hawkes

A firsthand account of the legislative quest to reform Utah water law and allow conservationists to protect fish and wildlife habitat

Clear As Mud

Jonathan Wood

A half-century after the Clean Water Act was enacted, there's still no clear answer as to what it regulates. A new Supreme Court case may finally provide some clarity.