Most of the estimates about how much water is consumed by users are wide-ranging, sometimes with huge margins of error. State Engineer Tom Turney said he wants to make his office more involved in active river management, including setting up markets that would allow water to be transferred from one use to another. Conservancy district chief engineer Subhas Shah agreed that it's important to allow agricultural water to be moved to other uses. That's why we have the water bank. Through the water bank, the district leases unused agricultural water to others.
Environmentalists see several ways to pay for that entitlement.
The water could be bought or leased from farmers. Or a public or private group working on behalf of the river could reimburse farmers for investing in drip systems and other efficiencies in exchange for water saved. Another option is to require that a portion of any water transfer be dedicated to the river. When a water right is transferred from a farm to a housing development, for example, a percentage would be set aside to remain in the river unused. No matter where water is found to keep the river wet, it's important for many reasons, said conservationist and author William DeBuys.