Summary of remarks by Margaret Bowman, Walton Family Foundation At the Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing regarding managing climate risks in the southwest

Margaret Bowman of the Walton Family Foundation outlines a vision for addressing water shortages in the Colorado River basin through agricultural modernization, urban efficiency, and water recycling. She argues that these strategies can close a projected water supply gap of 3.2 million acre feet by 2060, provided there is political will to scale local successes to a regional level.

• The U.S. Department of Interior projected that by 2060, the gap between water supply and demand in the Colorado River basin will exceed 3.2 million acre feet.
• The Walton Family Foundation proposes three primary solutions to close the projected water gap: agricultural infrastructure upgrades (estimated 1 million acre feet of savings), urban water efficiency (estimated 1 million acre feet of savings), and water recycling of wastewater, stormwater, and grey water (estimated 1.2 million acre feet of savings).
• Agricultural water savings can be achieved through a combination of technical methods—such as deficit irrigation, rotational fallowing, and crop shifting—and market-based water banking mechanisms that allow farmers to voluntarily bank unused water.
• Local examples of successful water management include temporary fallowing in Yuma, Arizona and Palo Verde, California; water-efficient appliance laws and groundwater recharge in Sierra Vista, Arizona and Cochise County; and the collaborative efforts of the Western Adaptation Alliance.
• A 2012 international agreement between the United States and Mexico facilitated a pulse flow experiment in the Colorado River delta to restore wetlands and riverside trees, while providing additional water for Nevada, Arizona, and California.

APA

Bowman, M. (2014). Summary of remarks by Margaret Bowman, Walton Family Foundation At the Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing regarding managing climate risks in the southwest. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/MargaretBowman040214.pdf

Chicago

Bowman, Margaret. Summary of remarks by Margaret Bowman, Walton Family Foundation At the Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing regarding managing climate risks in the southwest. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2014. https://www.eesi.org/files/MargaretBowman040214.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bowman |first1=Margaret |title=Summary of remarks by Margaret Bowman, Walton Family Foundation At the Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing regarding managing climate risks in the southwest |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=March 2014 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/MargaretBowman040214.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bowman2014summary, author = {Bowman, Margaret}, title = {{Summary of remarks by Margaret Bowman, Walton Family Foundation At the Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing regarding managing climate risks in the southwest}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2014}, month = mar, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/MargaretBowman040214.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }