2019 Conference

Exploring the River Together

December 11-13, 2019

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

December 11

Colorado River 101 – A View of the River

  • Colby Pellegrino, Director of Water Resources, Southern Nevada Water Authority | PDF ⟶

Augmentation Colloquium – When Flows Are Low

  • Moderator: Lisa Atkins, President, Central Arizona Water Conservation District | PDF ⟶
  • Chuck Cullom, Colorado River Programs Manager, Central Arizona Project | PDF ⟶
  • Candice Hasenyager, Assistant Planning Director, Utah Division of Water Resources | PDF ⟶
  • Sandy Kerl, General Manager, San Diego County Water Authority | PDF ⟶
  • Deven Upadhyay, Assistant General Manager/Chief Operating Officer, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California | PDF ⟶
  • Greg Walch, General Counsel, Southern Nevada Water Authority | PDF ⟶

Regulatory Colloquium – Rules of the River

  • Moderator: Aaron Chavez, Executive Director, San Juan Water Commission
  • Christopher Bellona, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines | PDF ⟶
  • Lowry A. Crook, Esq., Partner, Best Best & Krieger, LLP | PDF ⟶
  • Maribeth Klein, Senior Attorney, Salt River Project | PDF ⟶
  • Melissa Mata, Program Coordinator, San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program, US Fish and Wildlife Service | PDF ⟶

December 12

Welcome

Commissioner’s Perspective: Responding to Risk in the Colorado River Basin | Video ⟶

  • Brenda Burman, Commissioner, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

DCP: An Upper Basin Perspective | Video ⟶

  • Moderator: Amy Haas, Executive Director, Upper Colorado River Commission
  • Rebecca Mitchell, Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board and, Commissioner, Upper Colorado River Commission
  • Steve Wolff, Administrator, Interstate Streams Division, Wyoming State Engineer’s Office

DCP: A Lower Basin Perspective | Video ⟶

  • Thomas Buschatzke, Director, Arizona Department of Water Resources
  • Chris Harris, Executive Director, Colorado River Board of California
  • Colby Pellegrino, Director of Water Resources, Southern Nevada Water Authority | PDF ⟶

Interim Guidelines Discussion | Video ⟶

  • Moderator: John Fleck, Director of Water Resources, The University of New Mexico
  • Ted Cooke, General Manager, Central Arizona Project
  • John Entsminger, General Manager, Southern Nevada Water Authority
  • Terry Fulp, Regional Director, Lower Colorado Region, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • Andy Mueller, General Manager, Colorado River Water Conservation District
  • Jennifer Pitt, Director, Colorado River Program, National Audubon Society
  • Tina Shields, Water Department Manager, Imperial Irrigation District
  • Daryl Vigil, Water Administrator, Jicarilla Apache Nation

Lunch

Running the Rapids of Climate Change: What Does the Science Say?

  • Moderator: Anne Castle, Senior Fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center, University of Colorado | PDF ⟶
  • Katharine Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions, University of Arizona | PDF ⟶
  • Eric Kuhn, Author, Retired General Manager, Colorado River Conservation District | PDF ⟶
  • Jack Schmidt, Professor of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University | PDF ⟶

Tribal Water: Opportunities and Challenges

  • Moderator: Darryl Vigil, Water Administrator, Jicarilla Apache Nation
  • Lorelei Cloud, Councilwoman, Southern Ute Tribal Council
  • Jason John, Principal Hydrologist, Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources
  • Dr. Henry Martinez, General Manager, Imperial Irrigation District
  • Jay Weiner, Legal Counsel, Quechan Indian Tribe
  • Tim Williams, Chairman, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe

150th Anniversary of John Wesley Powell Expedition: A Look Into the Future of the West Through Education, Art, Science and Policy | PDF ⟶

  • Moderator: Dr. Thomas Minckley, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming
  • Jessica Flock, Wyoming History Day Coordinator, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
  • Patrick Kikut, Senior Associate Lecturer, Department of Visual and Literary Art, University of Wyoming
  • Jason Robison, Law Professor, College of Law, University of Wyoming

Forecasting Beyond the Next Bend

  • Moderator: Jeanine Jones, Interstate Resources Manager, California Department of Water Resources | PDF ⟶
  • Tom Hamill, Research Meteorologist, NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory | PDF ⟶
  • James Prairie, Hydrologic Engineer, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water & Environmental Systems | PDF ⟶
  • Russ Sands, Senior Program Manager, Colorado Water Conservation Board, State of Colorado | PDF ⟶

December 13

Business Meeting | Video ⟶

U.S.-Mexico Conversations | Video ⟶

International Boundary and Water Commission

  • Roberto Salmón Castelo, Commissioner, Mexican Section
  • Jayne Harkins, P.E., Commissioner, U.S. Section


Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA)

  • Victor Alcocer Yamanaka, Deputy Director General | PDF ⟶

Senior Federal Agency Water Officials Panel – Improving Inter-agency Coordination for Water Supply Reliability | Video ⟶

  • Moderator: Aubrey Bettencourt, Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Water & Science, U.S. Department of the Interior

    U.S. Department of the Interior
  • Dr. Timothy Petty, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science
  • Brenda Burman, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

    U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Dr. Timothy Gallaudet, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere

    U.S. Department of Energy
  • Daniel Simmons, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

    U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Astor Boozer, Regional Conservationist – West

    U.S. Department of Environmental Protection
  • Jess Kramer, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Administrator, Office of Water