The countdown to the 2026 Negotiations has begun...
About the book:
Whose Law of the River
by Ken Ransford
For some 20 years, Ken Ransford has served on a volunteer citizen's board in Colorado that state officials organized as a grassroots-level advisory board for Colorado River policy, regulation and legislation. As secretary of the board, Ken's ringside seat offered a granular view of the procrastination crisis that has forced what amounts to a national deadline in 2026.
Whose Law of the River connects the dots across states, nations, and timelines to explain how dozens of major decisions have set us up for what amounts to comprehensive Colorado River usage reform, with 2026 deadlines that the Trump Administration has indicated it intends to meet. To understand the generational changes on the way, requires knowledge of how we got here... and whose law of the river will prevail.
Less than 100 years ago the Colorado River flowed freely from La Poudre Pass in Colorado over 1,450 miles crossing seven U.S. and two Mexican states before flowing into the Gulf of California creating an ecologically rich delta. The waters of the Colorado River have not reached the Gulf of California on a regular basis since 1960.
About the Author:
Ken Ramsford
Ken Ransford is a licensed lawyer, CPA, and Registered Investment Advisor in Basalt, Colorado. His Bachelor’s Degree is from the University of California, Davis, Phi Beta Kappa, 1978, and his law degree is from the University of Colorado, 1984.
Ken has been the Secretary to the Colorado Basin Roundtable since 2005, which represents the Colorado River Basin in drafting Colorado’s Water Plan, and has served as the recreational representative to the Roundtable since 2008.
The book he is currently writing, Whose Law of the River, is informed, in part, by his experience at the Colorado Basin Roundtable, and driven by his passion for the outdoors, including kayaking the Colorado, skiing, and hiking in California’s High Sierra. The book is scheduled for publication in late 2025.
Get a teaser of Whose Law of the River by reading Ken Ramsford’s in-depth articles published in The Water Report.
Part 1 of 2: “Colorado River Basin Supply, Demand, and the Law of the River”
This first article, published 7/15/25, lays the foundation for the history and current management structure of the Colorado River, including water rights of Indian Tribes, and detailed data of diminishing water supply levels.
Part II of this article will be released in the next issue of The Water Report on August 15. It will detail the current conservation efforts, the Alternatives for post-2026 Colorado River operations that were submitted to Reclamation by various stakeholders, an overview of Reclamation’s Alternatives Report, and a discussion of what will be coming next if consensus is not reached.
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