0:00:03.230,0:00:04.539
This is a river.

0:00:05.857,0:00:07.198
This is a stream.

0:00:08.390,0:00:09.674
This is a river.

0:00:10.744,0:00:12.769
This is happening all over the country.

0:00:13.355,0:00:17.849
There are tens of thousands of miles[br]of dewatered streams in the United States.

0:00:18.256,0:00:23.005
On this map, the colored areas[br]represent water conflicts.

0:00:24.000,0:00:26.966
Similar problems[br]are emerging in the East as well.

0:00:27.791,0:00:31.169
The reasons vary state to state,[br]but mostly in the details.

0:00:31.907,0:00:36.609
There are 4,000 miles[br]of dewatered streams in Montana alone.

0:00:37.655,0:00:40.745
They would ordinarily[br]support fish and other wildlife.

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They're the veins of the ecosystem,

0:00:44.229,0:00:46.052
and they're often empty veins.

0:00:47.964,0:00:51.211
I want to tell you the story[br]of just one of these streams,

0:00:51.235,0:00:54.675
because it's an archetype[br]for the larger story.

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This is Prickly Pear Creek.

0:00:56.463,0:01:00.988
It runs through a populated area[br]from East Helena to Lake Helena.

0:01:01.940,0:01:07.592
It supports wild fish including cutthroat,[br]brown and rainbow trout.

0:01:07.616,0:01:11.588
Nearly every year[br]for more than a hundred years ...

0:01:13.130,0:01:15.319
it looked like this in the summer.

0:01:15.343,0:01:16.603
How did we get here?

0:01:17.827,0:01:21.002
Well, it started back in the late 1800s

0:01:21.026,0:01:23.976
when people started settling[br]in places like Montana.

0:01:24.290,0:01:28.142
In short, there was a lot of water[br]and there weren't very many people.

0:01:29.091,0:01:31.101
But as more people[br]showed up wanting water,

0:01:31.125,0:01:34.078
the folks who were there first[br]got a little concerned,

0:01:34.102,0:01:38.040
and in 1865, Montana passed[br]its first water law.

0:01:38.754,0:01:42.771
It basically said, everybody[br]near the stream can share in the stream.

0:01:43.309,0:01:46.267
Oddly, a lot of people showed up[br]wanting to share the stream,

0:01:46.291,0:01:47.918
and the folks who were there first

0:01:47.942,0:01:50.286
got concerned enough[br]to bring out their lawyers.

0:01:50.634,0:01:54.101
There were precedent-setting suits[br]in 1870 and 1872,

0:01:54.125,0:01:56.313
both involving Prickly Pear Creek.

0:01:56.750,0:01:57.976
And in 1921,

0:01:58.000,0:02:03.075
the Montana Supreme Court[br]ruled in a case involving Prickly Pear

0:02:03.099,0:02:08.694
that the folks who were there first[br]had the first, or "senior water rights."

0:02:09.564,0:02:12.186
These senior water rights are key.

0:02:12.806,0:02:16.641
The problem is that all over the West[br]now it looks like this.

0:02:16.665,0:02:18.446
Some of these creeks have claims

0:02:18.470,0:02:22.768
for 50 to 100 times more water[br]than is actually in the stream.

0:02:23.308,0:02:28.154
And the senior water rights holders,[br]if they don't use their water right,

0:02:28.178,0:02:30.328
they risk losing their water right --

0:02:31.073,0:02:33.750
along with the economic value[br]that goes with it.

0:02:33.774,0:02:36.436
So they have no incentive to conserve.

0:02:37.180,0:02:39.682
So it's not just[br]about the number of people;

0:02:40.521,0:02:43.910
the system itself creates[br]a disincentive to conserve

0:02:43.934,0:02:47.031
because you can lose your water[br]right if you don't use it.

0:02:48.299,0:02:52.294
So after decades of lawsuits[br]and 140 years, now, of experience,

0:02:52.318,0:02:54.000
we still have this.

0:02:55.843,0:02:57.620
It's a broken system.

0:02:57.644,0:02:59.644
There's a disincentive to conserve,

0:02:59.668,0:03:03.259
because if you don't use your water right,[br]you can lose your water right.

0:03:03.283,0:03:06.512
And I'm sure you all know,[br]this has created significant conflicts

0:03:06.536,0:03:09.589
between the agricultural[br]and environmental communities.

0:03:10.551,0:03:12.976
OK, now I'm going to change gears here.

0:03:13.965,0:03:17.710
Most of you will be happy to know that[br]the rest of the presentation's free ...

0:03:17.734,0:03:18.761
(Laughter)

0:03:18.785,0:03:21.569
and some of you'll be happy[br]to know that it involves beer.

0:03:21.593,0:03:24.564
(Laughter)

0:03:24.588,0:03:27.038
There's another thing[br]happening around the country,

0:03:27.062,0:03:29.553
which is that companies[br]are starting to get concerned

0:03:29.577,0:03:31.211
about their water footprint.

0:03:31.235,0:03:34.323
They're concerned about securing[br]an adequate supply of water,

0:03:34.347,0:03:37.230
they're trying to be really efficient[br]with their water use,

0:03:37.254,0:03:39.466
and they're concerned[br]about how their water use

0:03:39.490,0:03:41.155
affects the image of their brand.

0:03:42.269,0:03:43.820
Well, it's a national problem,

0:03:43.844,0:03:46.524
but I'm going to tell you[br]another story from Montana ...

0:03:46.548,0:03:48.701
and it involves beer.

0:03:48.725,0:03:51.672
I bet you didn't know,[br]it takes about 5 pints of water

0:03:51.696,0:03:53.309
to make a pint of beer.

0:03:53.333,0:03:55.302
If you include all the drain,

0:03:55.326,0:03:58.877
it takes more than a hundred pints[br]of water to make a pint of beer.

0:03:58.901,0:04:00.349
Now the brewers in Montana

0:04:00.373,0:04:04.303
have already done a lot[br]to reduce their water consumption,

0:04:04.327,0:04:06.592
but they still use[br]millions of gallons of water.

0:04:06.616,0:04:08.846
I mean, there's water in beer.

0:04:10.168,0:04:16.475
So what can they do[br]about this remaining water footprint

0:04:16.499,0:04:19.735
that can have serious effects[br]on the ecosystem?

0:04:20.176,0:04:22.464
These ecosystems are really important

0:04:22.488,0:04:24.526
to the Montana brewers[br]and their customers.

0:04:24.550,0:04:28.195
After all, there's a strong correlation[br]between water and fishing,

0:04:28.219,0:04:32.446
and for some, there's a strong correlation[br]between fishing and beer.

0:04:32.470,0:04:33.977
(Laughter)

0:04:34.001,0:04:37.512
So the Montana brewers[br]and their customers are concerned

0:04:37.625,0:04:40.302
and they're looking for some way[br]to address the problem.

0:04:40.326,0:04:43.945
So how can they address[br]this remaining water footprint?

0:04:43.969,0:04:45.474
Remember Prickly Pear.

0:04:45.498,0:04:49.677
Up until now, business water stewardship

0:04:49.701,0:04:52.976
has been limited[br]to measuring and reducing,

0:04:53.975,0:04:57.096
and we're suggesting[br]that the next step is to restore.

0:04:58.123,0:04:59.295
Remember Prickly Pear.

0:04:59.319,0:05:00.543
It's a broken system.

0:05:00.567,0:05:02.610
You've got a disincentive to conserve,

0:05:02.634,0:05:06.379
because if you don't use your water right,[br]you risk losing your water right.

0:05:06.403,0:05:08.790
Well, we decided to connect[br]these two worlds --

0:05:08.814,0:05:12.135
the world of the companies[br]with their water footprints

0:05:12.159,0:05:13.766
and the world of the farmers

0:05:13.790,0:05:16.239
with their senior water rights[br]on these creeks.

0:05:16.263,0:05:17.569
In some states,

0:05:18.324,0:05:22.976
senior water rights holders[br]can leave their water in the stream

0:05:23.000,0:05:26.154
while legally protecting it from others,

0:05:27.043,0:05:29.709
and maintaining their water right.

0:05:30.740,0:05:33.154
After all, it is their water right,

0:05:33.178,0:05:37.277
and if they want to use that water right[br]to help the fish grow in the stream,

0:05:37.721,0:05:39.308
it's their right to do so.

0:05:40.135,0:05:43.976
But they have no incentive to do so.

0:05:44.802,0:05:50.076
So, working with local water trusts,[br]we created an incentive to do so.

0:05:50.100,0:05:54.252
We pay them to leave[br]their water in stream.

0:05:54.276,0:05:55.670
That's what's happening here.

0:05:55.694,0:06:00.497
This individual has made the choice[br]and is closing this water diversion,

0:06:00.521,0:06:02.696
leaving the water in the stream.

0:06:02.720,0:06:04.361
He doesn't lose the water right,

0:06:04.385,0:06:09.154
he just chooses to apply that right,[br]or some portion of it,

0:06:09.178,0:06:11.681
to the stream, instead of to the land.

0:06:12.432,0:06:14.813
Because he's the senior[br]water-rights holder,

0:06:14.837,0:06:17.976
he can protect the water[br]from other users in the stream.

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OK?

0:06:20.274,0:06:22.976
He gets paid to leave[br]the water in the stream.

0:06:24.208,0:06:27.311
This guy's measuring the water[br]that this leaves in the stream.

0:06:28.565,0:06:31.051
We then take the measured water,

0:06:31.075,0:06:33.730
we divide it into[br]thousand-gallon increments.

0:06:34.240,0:06:37.874
Each increment gets a serial number[br]and a certificate,

0:06:37.898,0:06:41.286
and then the brewers and others[br]buy those certificates

0:06:41.310,0:06:45.375
as a way to return water[br]to these degraded ecosystems.

0:06:45.399,0:06:48.552
The brewers pay[br]to restore water to the stream.

0:06:50.672,0:06:53.913
It provides a simple,[br]inexpensive and measurable way

0:06:54.873,0:06:57.583
to return water[br]to these degraded ecosystems,

0:06:57.607,0:07:00.500
while giving farmers an economic choice

0:07:00.524,0:07:03.408
and giving businesses[br]concerned about their water footprints

0:07:03.432,0:07:04.976
an easy way to deal with them.

0:07:05.477,0:07:11.547
After 140 years of conflict[br]and 100 years of dry streams,

0:07:12.316,0:07:16.302
a circumstance that litigation[br]and regulation has not solved,

0:07:17.787,0:07:21.969
we put together a market-based,[br]willing buyer, willing seller solution --

0:07:21.993,0:07:24.675
a solution that[br]does not require litigation.

0:07:26.475,0:07:31.357
It's about giving folks[br]concerned about their water footprints

0:07:31.381,0:07:35.208
a real opportunity to put water[br]where it's critically needed,

0:07:35.986,0:07:38.484
into these degraded ecosystems,

0:07:38.508,0:07:44.106
while at the same time providing farmers[br]a meaningful economic choice

0:07:44.263,0:07:46.172
about how their water is used.

0:07:46.196,0:07:48.879
These transactions[br]create allies, not enemies.

0:07:48.903,0:07:51.358
They connect people[br]rather than dividing them.

0:07:51.382,0:07:55.096
And they provide needed economic[br]support for rural communities.

0:07:55.120,0:07:57.104
And most importantly, it's working.

0:07:57.128,0:08:01.797
We've returned more than four billion[br]gallons of water to degraded ecosystems.

0:08:01.821,0:08:03.850
We've connected senior[br]water-rights holders

0:08:03.874,0:08:05.322
with brewers in Montana,

0:08:05.346,0:08:08.058
with hotels and tea companies in Oregon,

0:08:08.082,0:08:11.687
and with high-tech companies[br]that use a lot of water in the Southwest.

0:08:11.711,0:08:14.099
And when we make these connections,

0:08:14.123,0:08:17.328
we can and we do turn this ...

0:08:17.963,0:08:19.113
into this.

0:08:19.563,0:08:20.933
(Applause)

0:08:20.957,0:08:22.410
Thank you very much.

0:08:22.434,0:08:26.134
(Applause)