new river, stream and wetland restoration blog

Troutheadwaters, Inc, has released its first blog at Club Ecoblu. The blog covers the gamut in river, stream, and wetland renewal. The site highlights the innovation, creativity, and vision executed by THI, Inc. In short, a recommended read.

changing water mitigation into water marketing

As you probably already know, I'm intrigued by mitigation and by capturing value of water resource assets. AKA, turning blue into green. My time at the AWRA conference strengthened my belief that the two (mitigation and water assets) go hand in hand. I saw a number of presentations that detailed great mitigation design and execution. The projects ranged from aquifer recharge, to ASR, to nutrients, to water quantity, etc. The overarching goal of these mitigation projects were similar: provide adequate regulatory means of mitigation. In other words, mitigation is a liability, how can we minimize its impact on our financial performance. I propose a paradigm shift from "mitigation is a liability" to "mitigation is an asset."

Here's the big idea. If you are already required to mitigate and are designing a system to achieve this objective, why not invest some additional capital to not only meet your current needs, but also future mitigation requirements of others (see illustration above). After all, you're having to mitigate, so chances are upcoming impacts in the area will be required to do the same. This action will provide your project with a marketable mitigation asset and increase your bottom-line.

water bank presentation (revisited)

I am presenting on water banking this Thursday 11/12/09 at the 2009 AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference. My abstract is summarized below. The final version has changed from my original submission. If you want to conduct some homework on water banks for my presentation, I'd recommend the Analysis of Water Banks in Western States. This paper will provide a general background and understanding of the vague term: water bank. I'm exploring specific private market opportunities that utilize water banks to mitigate future groundwater development.

YOU CAN BANK ON IT: UTILIZING PRIVATE WATER BANKS TO MITIGATE GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT

Abstract: With an increasing thirst and exhausting surface water resources, the arid West is becoming dependent on groundwater. As a result, there is a need for an efficient system to offset increasing groundwater development. The answer lies in private water banking. Water banks are defined as institutional mechanisms that facilitate transfer and exchange of water. Throughout the West, most of these institutions have operated on a large, public scale – failing to address water depletions on a local level. In contrast, privately owned water banks offer a better model to respond to specific groundwater withdraws. Just as wetland banks have augmented the loss of this resource, privately owned water banks have a role in the water market. This presentation will highlight the existing wetland banking system as it compares to water banking opportunities and the water market. The presentation will also recognize the characteristics of the water market that lends itself to private water banking. Details regarding various banking strategies will be provided, as well as examples of private water banking systems and their design. Finally, the presentation will highlight the functionality of private water banks and the benefits they bring to the water driven West.

turning blue into green

Lotic has implemented a new mantra for our work:"Turning Blue in Green." What does this mean? Water rights have historically been one dimensional- the claimed use and appropriation. We call this monolithic view of water BLUE. In contrast, Lotic is pursing opportunities associated with GREEN. Green represents wealth, efficiency, sustainability, and future management. Rather than taking a static view of water, the company focuses on the new market opportunities associated with change. Our business is turning blue into green.

Montana Associated Technology Roundtables recently posted a write-up on Lotic and this new concept. I will expand on this mantra in future posts.