All Glossary Terms
“Show me the water” requirements (comprehensive plans)
Also known as adequate or assured water supply rules, this topic can be addressed in a community’s comprehensive plan, in the category of water-efficient land use. It involves demonstrating adequate water supply before approving new development, creating new subdivisions, changing zoning, or redeveloping areas with different land use. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Active Management Area (AMA)
In Arizona, an area that relies heavily on mined groundwater and is regulated by the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Code. Arizona has five AMAs, each named for its largest city or county: Prescott, Phoenix, Pinal, Tucson, and Santa Cruz. Source: Active Management Area Overview | Arizona Department of Water Resources (azwater.gov).
Adjacent Areas Served (AAS)
Short for adjacent areas served by Colorado River water. It refers to locales outside the hydrologic basin of the Colorado River, where its waters are exported via transbasin diversions. Most of the population that relies on Colorado River water lives in large cities in the Adjacent Areas Served, such as Denver, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The Adjacent Areas Served, as defined in this report, generally correspond with the “adjacent areas that receive Colorado River water” as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2012), with two notable differences. One is the watershed of the Salton Sea, a portion of which is classified as an adjacent area by the Bureau of Reclamation because it receives Colorado River water via the All-American Canal and Colorado River Aqueduct but no longer contributes tributary flow to the river. However, before Hoover Dam was built, the Colorado River would sometimes migrate from its current channel and into the Salton Sink (see, e.g., Ross 2020). Because of that connection, we include it within the hydrologic CRB area, rather than in Adjacent Areas Served. See U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2012, p. ES-3. The second exception is the area in northwestern Mexico encompassing the cities of Tijuana and Ensenada. Colorado River water is exported to Tijuana via the Colorado River-Tijuana aqueduct. For our purposes this counts as an AAS, but since it is a Mexican infrastructure project, it is not included in Bureau of Reclamation service area maps. The city of Ensenada is included in this area because Tijuana sends Colorado River water there via a pipeline that was originally constructed to pump water in the opposite direction. Although in our map this area may appear contiguous with the Southern California AAS that includes San Diego and Los Angeles, it is not part of the same service area on account of the international border.
Building and plumbing policies (comprehensive plans)
These are part of a community’s comprehensive plan, in the category of water-efficient land use, which deals with provisions to update plumbing in new, existing, or retrofitted buildings or homes. Such measures can help reduce indoor water use and may be implemented through incentives such as rebates, regulations, or guidelines. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Collaboration for land and water (comprehensive plans)
In a community’s comprehensive plan, this can fall under the category of water-efficient land use, to describe the collaboration between land and water management entities in local government. This may include aligning agencies’ data, continuous research and monitoring, collaborating on development codes, holding regular meetings between planning and water departments, coordinating among jurisdictions and across watersheds or basins, participating in watershed or basin-wide groups. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Colorado River Basin (CRB)
The area drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries; a hydrologic boundary including the combined areas of the Upper Colorado and the Lower Colorado Basins. When we use the term Colorado River Basin in this study, we refer to an area that differs slightly from the HUC-02 Region shapefiles in the USGS National Hydrography Dataset (see entry for Hydrologic Unit Code). We exclude some watersheds whose tributaries do not flow directly into the Colorado River, including the Great Divide Closed Basin (HUC ID: 140402) and several basins along the Arizona-Mexico border that flow directly into the Sea of Cortez (e.g., Río Sonoita and Río Concepción). We also include a few areas that are not in the HUC-02 Region footprints of the Upper or Lower Colorado within the National Hydrography Dataset, most notably the areas around the Salton Sea and Laguna Salada in Mexico. The Colorado River, like all rivers, shifts over time. Before Hoover Dam closed, the Lower Colorado would migrate wildly and often swung westward to feed directly into the Salton Basin, hence we include that area as part of the Colorado River Basin rather than within the Adjacent Areas Served. For more, explore the Babbitt Center’s map of the Colorado River Basin.
Colorado River Basin and Adjacent Areas Served (CRBAAS)
This is the combined area of the hydrologic Colorado River Basin boundary (see CRB definition for exceptions) and the Adjacent Areas Served via transbasin diversions (see AAS definition). The CRBAAS had an estimated population of 43 million people in 2021.
Comprehensive plan
Also known as a general plan or master plan, this lays out a community’s goals and aspirations for its development, covering a broad range of topics and a years-long time horizon. Such plans are adopted and updated by cities, towns, counties, or other communities to determine priorities and public policies on transportation, land use, recreation, and housing. Sources: Rugland, 2020; Kelly, 2009.
Development and land use change (comprehensive plans)
Can be addressed in a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of future projections, which deals with scenarios for land use or zoning changes. This could include accounting for water use changes resulting from growth in particular sectors, annexing lands, and housing unit density and occupancy. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Development process and evaluation (comprehensive plans)
Can be addressed in a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of water-efficient land use. It specifies water providers’ role and considers supply, demand, and wastewater implications of development or redevelopment early in the process. This can allow water utilities to make recommendations about water-efficient design and tap size, and ensure that water and sewer infrastructure is compatible with the development’s density. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Existing water supplies and availability (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of water management, that involves a community’s taking stock of its existing water portfolio, including surface water (available seasonally and annually), groundwater, water providers (municipal and private), and water rights. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Forecasting water supply and demand (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of future projections. It does more than estimate population fluctuations—it forecasts changes in supply and demand resulting from climate change, overuse or over pumping of groundwater, drought, water quality threats, and land use changes. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Front Range Urban Corridor
Often shortened to just “Front Range” this refers to an oblong region with a population of more than five million, located along the eastern face of the Southern Rocky Mountains. It encompasses 18 counties in Colorado and Wyoming and is named after the mountain range that defines the corridor’s western boundary. Source: Front Range urban corridor - Wikipedia.
Future projections (comprehensive plans)
An overarching category of water elements or topics to include in comprehensive plans, focusing on expectations for demand and water supplies. Can include projected population and economic change, projected development and land use change, water-related hazard mitigation, forecasting water supply and demand, water supply diversification, and water equity. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Indicator
A summary measure that provides information on the state of, or change in, the system being measured. Sometimes used interchangeably with metric, as in this report. See also Metric. Source: Fiksel et al. (2012).
Landscaping and irrigation policies (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of water-efficient land use. Reducing outdoor water use often represents a big opportunity for Colorado River Basin communities, involving incentives, requirements, or guides for turf removal, turf limitations, xeriscaping, inclusion of low-water-use or native plants, rain or moisture sensors, spray nozzles, positive shutoffs, irrigation efficiency, and so forth. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Metric
The measured value(s) used to assess specific indicators. It defines the units and how the indicator is being measured. Sometimes used interchangeably with indicator. Source: Fiksel et al., 2012.
Population and economic change (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, in the category of future projections; it deals with estimating and accounting for future changes in population and demographics and determining how these fluctuations could influence water use and demand. This may include scenarios accounting for population growth, employment growth or change (by sector or industry), and visitor or tourist populations. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Stormwater management (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of water-efficient land use, that deals with how a community prepares to manage stormwater. Preparation can include strategies for collecting stormwater, improving permeability of surfaces, constructing or preserving wetlands, or installing green infrastructure, to name a few. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Urban form and zoning regulations (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, under the category of water-efficient land use, that focuses on urban form. Certain kinds of projects can promote water efficiency, including cluster development and mixed-use development. Creating urban growth boundaries and altering zoning through methods like recharge areas (to protect certain areas critical to watersheds) fall into this category. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water and wastewater infrastructure (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling under the category of water management, that describes a community’s water system and how it functions. It may include descriptions of metering for wells and water use, water storage, reuse potential, system efficiency (leak detection or water loss programs), infrastructure lifespan, miles of pipe, and capacity of treatment plants. It can also describe what upgrades and infrastructure needs are on the horizon. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water conservation programs (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling into the category of water management, that deals with water-saving actions and strategies undertaken by a community. These may include public education, water budgets, efficiency standards, conservation codes, conservation banks, and incentive programs, to name a few. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water equity (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling under the category of future projections, that deals with equity and access. Explores whether a community is ensuring that water remains accessible and affordable to all its citizens, and whether it is trying to meet the water needs of marginalized, disenfranchised, or underrepresented populations. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water financing (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling under the category of water management. It addresses how water supplies, infrastructure, maintenance, and delivery costs are generated through water rates, fee structures, or bond issues. Fees and water rates can be designed to incentivize or disincentivize certain behaviors or development practices. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water for ecosystem services (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling into the category of water-efficient land use, that deals with how a community addresses important ecosystem services related to water. Can include maintaining instream flows for wildlife or recreation or identifying sensitive areas that require protection, such as wetlands or groundwater infiltration areas, which also produce important benefits to the water system. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water management (comprehensive plans)
An overarching category of water elements or topics to include in comprehensive plans that focuses on the management of water supply. Describes elements that include existing water supplies and availability, water use and demand, water financing, general water conservation programs, water and wastewater infrastructure, and water quality. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water quality (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling under the category of water management. This topic might also be covered in conjunction with wastewater infrastructure or stormwater management, but it addresses how water quality is monitored or assessed and what threats to water quality the community may be facing. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water supply diversification (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling under the category of future projections and addressing anticipated gaps in water supply and demand. Are communities seeking redundant water supplies by examining the use of gray or non-potable water, groundwater recharge or banking, placing limits on groundwater drawdown, large-scale rain or stormwater capture, water leasing, water sharing, water transfers, or buying up water rights from agriculture and fallowing that land (buy and dry)? Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water use/demand (comprehensive plans)
A potential topic for a community’s comprehensive plan, falling under the category of water management. This can be tracked by land use, zone, sector (residential, industrial, agricultural, commercial), per capita, seasonally, use (indoor versus outdoor), or by water type (potable, reused). It can also be measured in units, including acre-feet, gallons, hundreds of cubic feet (CCF/HCF), or thousands of gallons. Source: Rugland, 2020.
Water-efficient land use (comprehensive plans)
An overarching category of water elements or topics to include in a comprehensive plan, focusing on efficient use of water and land. This category can include topics such as collaboration for land and water, “show me the water” requirements, development process and evaluation, urban form and zoning regulations, landscaping and irrigation policies, building and plumbing policies, stormwater management, and water for ecosystem functions. Source: Rugland, 2020.