Not to be flip, but I think we should elect the beavers - I’m sure they are much smarter. Ha! Ha! (Okay, maybe a little flip!)

I live in the east, so I understand that part. The situation in the west is interesting. It seems to me that whoever “owned” the water “first”, now has a lot of power

Barb, that’s it in a nutshell… and western states keep electing ranchers (i.e. waterowners) to public office. They’re the old families, the one with connections. In a sense the eastern money/power model is money/power/water west of the Mississippi, because water laws allowed individuals to corral the resource. It also means that water management is governed by science in the east; in the west, water law is what matters. Alice

Thanks (and I hope I’m not being too stupid!)

Barb, the City of Denver owns water rights (and as it grows, it needs to buy more). Across the country, cities own their water treatment and wastewater treatment plants, and they sell treated water to the residents. But west of the Mississippi, cities are obligated to buy the treated water they sell; in the east they sell water without buying it first. Alice

The city or state should recognize that and protect/encourage the beavers out of sheer self interest!

Is there any movement in that direction, a bill, some legislation…? I despise foolishness, especially on a large scale. Foolishness is when ignorance is stubborn in the face of facts.

Thanks for the interesting lesson!
A

GIANT problem. The cities grew but all of the water is already owned. Alice