States across the West are facing the same dilemma as Colorado: Too many people and not enough water. Their circumstances may be different, but the app- roaches instructive for Colorado as it deals with what could become a crisis in the future. Water officials from other states shared how they are coping at a conference sponsored by the Western State Water Council this week. “Growth is coming to the West and we’re going to need more supplies than the Colorado River can give us,” Kay Brothers, deputy general manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority bluntly told the group. Las Vegas has failed to cover its bets on water supply more than once, Brothers pointed out. Up until the 1980s, the city was growing at about 2 percent a year, and competing water districts figured they were covered well into the 21st century, and were actually trying to use more Colorado River water to broaden their claims.

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