TROUBLED WATERS

Given the battles over who has rights to dwindling water supplies in the West, it might be easy to overlook some of the basic concepts about water sustainability in the region.

For instance, you can’t use more water than you have, said John Tracy, director of the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University.

That’s pretty basic. Yet, people in a wide variety of professions increasingly need foundational knowledge about water resources and their management as demands from agriculture, industry, and municipalities increasingly strain supplies cut short by climate change.

A new course provided by the Colorado Water Center and hosted by CSU Global is designed to share such essential knowledge with college students, professionals, community leaders, and anyone else interested. Water Sustainability in the Western U.S. (GES 120) is an eight-week, fully online course. And it is asynchronous, meaning it can be completed on a learner’s schedule.

For college students enrolled, the class offers three science credits that fulfill general education requirements and may be transferred to any public college or university in Colorado.

The course provides an overview of key issues related to the West’s water challenges, said Tracy, who is the course instructor.

“My hope is that people who take this class will be able to go into any public meeting about water resources and be able to understand the discussion and productively engage in the discussion,” Tracy said.

The collaboration between CSU and CSU Global demonstrates how universities in the CSU System can leverage each other’s strengths to serve Colorado and beyond, said Becky Takeda-Tinker, CSU Global president.

“As part of our land-grant CSU System, our coming together for such work heightens our ability to serve others in new and synergistic ways,” she said.

Photo at top: Lawn irrigation consumes more water than any other household need. Photo: John Eisele / CSU Photography.