Stop, Collaborate and Listen: A Q&A with Principal Technologist Jeff DenBleyker

How can we encourage cooperation between different stakeholders?

Collaboration cannot be all talk. We have to find actions, however small they might be, that we can accomplish together. It allows people to work side-by-side on something less controversial, listening and understanding each other. That builds the kind of trust that is so critical to successful collaboration. We have applied this strategy successfully numerous times here in Utah as we have wrestled with water challenges around the state. It might include investigating a problem or potential solutions, developing datasets that we will all need or implementing a non-controversial project that might not even address the issue. The key is doing it together. Trust is what then enables us to work through the tough stuff.

Can you share an interesting project story?

One of my favorites has been unfolding over the last 15 years. Most of my career has revolved around our challenges with the Great Salt Lake. The lake is in a closed basin, meaning nearly all the water that enters it is from precipitation, and all the water that leaves it is via evaporation. Add a booming economy, fast growth, and a long-term drought and you have all the ingredients for some complicated and contentious many water resource challenges.

I started working on Great Salt Lake issues in 2005. We were investigating the water quality problems in the wetland surrounding the lake's shoreline. That's when I first experienced the intersection between the quantity and quality of water and the effect of conflicting objectives. While the science was undoubtedly fascinating, the water users were the more challenging and rewarding component for me. When I started, attorneys often drove any change because we needed to forge trust among stakeholders. Over time though, through a lot of hard work, we have built that trust and made a lot of progress.

Last year, the lake was at its all-time low; collaboration matters now more than ever. The challenges are more significant and consequential than we have ever faced, and we really need to find lasting solutions that can leave a legacy for future generations.

In a similar vein, where do you see water resource management efforts going in the Lower Colorado River Basin, given the challenges?

With seven states, numerous tribes and an international partner, each composed of their own communities and individuals, water use in the Colorado River Basin is highly complex. It is encouraging to see the states working toward a consensus-driven solution. What I have learned here in Utah, however, is that that is just the beginning. Yes, the states, tribes and federal entities will need to agree. However, every water user throughout the river basin must understand and assume ownership of the solutions for any solution to succeed.

There is no "silver bullet." There is not even, as a friend says, "silver buckshot or silver birdshot." We will have to implement a sustainable solution at every corner of the basin for everyone to gain a water supply that is resilient to the climate change and growth that we can expect. This approach is a heavy lift and not for the faint of heart! Through my work in Utah, however, I know it is possible to help conflicting interests recognize a common goal and their role in achieving success. Accomplishing collaboration with even one irrigation company or municipality and replicating that throughout the basin will be the key to a sustainable Colorado River solution.