GOAL: To increase the flow of water in rivers and streams so they are better suited to support a diverse riparian habitat.
DESCRIPTION: A declining coal industry represents the unique opportunity to capitalize upon excess water that becomes available when coal-fired power plants are phased out. Whether a plant is transitioned to natural gas or shut down completely, excess water and/or water rights may be available for purchase. Our project assessed the feasibility of investing in these water rights, which involves understanding how expensive the water is and the environmental and recreational benefits generated by having that water in stream. In certain scenarios, there may be opportunities to improve stream flows by strategically leasing water rights to downstream users.
CASE STUDIES: Our project research began by identifying retiring coal-fired power plants in all twelve western states, which necessitated understanding the state-specific water law in each state as well. We quickly realized, however, that if we wanted to fully understand the feasibility of acquiring water from a retiring coal-fired power plant we needed to perform deep dives on specific retirement scenarios. As a result, we performed case studies on three coal-fired power plant retirement scenarios; two in Montana and a third in Texas. With a place-specific focus, we were able to better evaluate the value of individual water rights and determine the ecological benefits of keeping water in stream in these three locations.
DESCRIPTION: A declining coal industry represents the unique opportunity to capitalize upon excess water that becomes available when coal-fired power plants are phased out. Whether a plant is transitioned to natural gas or shut down completely, excess water and/or water rights may be available for purchase. Our project assessed the feasibility of investing in these water rights, which involves understanding how expensive the water is and the environmental and recreational benefits generated by having that water in stream. In certain scenarios, there may be opportunities to improve stream flows by strategically leasing water rights to downstream users.
CASE STUDIES: Our project research began by identifying retiring coal-fired power plants in all twelve western states, which necessitated understanding the state-specific water law in each state as well. We quickly realized, however, that if we wanted to fully understand the feasibility of acquiring water from a retiring coal-fired power plant we needed to perform deep dives on specific retirement scenarios. As a result, we performed case studies on three coal-fired power plant retirement scenarios; two in Montana and a third in Texas. With a place-specific focus, we were able to better evaluate the value of individual water rights and determine the ecological benefits of keeping water in stream in these three locations.