America's founders did not anticipate living in the desert. The Constitution's primary mechanism for dividing shared water resources among states — the interstate compact — has proved inadequate to deal with situations in which water is extremely scarce.

In 2012, the drought-stricken Western United States will ship more than 50 billion gallons of water to China. This water will leave the country embedded in alfalfa—most of it grown in California—and is destined to feed Chinese cows. The strange situation illustrates what is wrong about how we think, or rather don't think, about water policy in the U.S.

The Southwestern Water Conservation District has joined other agencies in opposing two ballot initiatives that would overturn 160 years of Colorado water law. No longer could individuals claim water under the current “first in time, first in line” standard.

Water users in Prowers County have filed a complaint in water court questioning State Engineer Dick Wolfe’s authority to approve a plan for a pilot program by the Arkansas Valley Super Ditch to lease water to Fountain and Security this year.

Colorado has a water policy, but nothing like the plans in some other states. That’s the conclusion of Eric Hecox, who handles much of the water planning chores for the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

The United States has thousands of miles of coastline, and more than half of its population lives in counties bordering oceans or the Great Lakes — areas administered by a hodgepodge of federal, state or other agencies, often with conflicting goals. For years, environmental groups and expert panels have called for federal oversight for these areas.

Republicans in Congress are aggressively attacking the Clean Water Act - a landmark 1970 law created the year after Ohio's horrifically polluted Cuyahoga River spontaneously burst into flame.

The Western Slope has had plenty of water observers, officials and attorneys, but it hasn’t had, until now, a focal point for the collection of water information. The Water Center at Mesa State College, however, is now in business and was inaugurated on Wednesday on campus.

Big picture water issues, including the  Colorado River Cooperative Agreement, water banking and the Flaming Gorge pipeline proposal, will be on the table May 26 at the Colorado Basin roundtable meeting in Grand Junction.