7: Is Water for Fighting Over?

Guest: John FleckA decade ago, the Utton Center's Writer in Residence John Fleck published his book Water is For Fighting Over and Other Myths About Water in the West, an exploration of water governance in the Colorado River Basin. Amid an often pessimistic literature, led by iconic titles that Fleck read as a young journalist - Mark Reisner's Cadillac Desertand Philip Fradkin's A River No More, among others - Water is For Fighting Over offered an optimistic narrative, stories of a governance structure adapting to scarcity and change, alongside communities thriving as they adapted to a future with less water.The Utton Center's Rin Tara read Water is For Fighting Over as a college student, and it influenced the direction of their life, pursuing a law degree studying water law and policy and now working with Fleck at the Utton Center on the challenges of the Colorado River's future.For this special episode of Water Matters, recorded at a time of deep uncertainty, conflict, and what some characterize as crisis on the Colorado River, Tara and Fleck look back at the book - what it said, what it got right, and what it got wrong - as they discuss the past, present, and future of the Colorado River.