Welcome sign at the Las Vegas international airport

Emrgy at the 2019 CRWUA Conference

In mid-December, Emrgy’s sales team and CEO Emily Morris attended the 2019 Colorado River Water Users Association (CRWUA) Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees were very interested in Emrgy’s distributed hydrokinetic power generators, and the potential for their own canal systems.  “We’re thrilled to show many of the largest irrigators in the U.S. how they can generate additional revenue from their untapped canals,” said Morris.  “Water in the West is undervalued and making money in the water delivery business is challenging.  Many districts don’t realize they have access to a valuable, renewable resource that can generate power or offset energy costs.” The purpose of the CRWUA is to protect the interests of those who rely on the Colorado River water system and to open a dialogue on important issues that relate to the water system. The conference brought together key decision-makers from the Colorado River Basin states and featured informative speakers, panel discussions, and exhibitions of interest to Colorado River water users.

Emrgy’s Matt (Left) and Jeff (Center) at the Emrgy exhibition booth at CRWUA 2019

One major topic discussed during the conference was the diminishing projected water flow in the Colorado River Basin. Over recent years the basin’s storage levels have decreased due to below-average snowfall and drought conditions, so in response guidelines on how to operate the river’s two main reservoirs have been put in place in order to share the responsibility of protecting the water supplies. Many states in the west have also committed to taking less water from the Colorado River. These actions follow the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) put in place earlier this year by federal legislators in order to continue to meet the demand for water in the Colorado River basin.

This is section of the Colorado River in Page, Arizona is known as Horseshoe Bend (image from Pixabay)

We came home energized and inspired to continue to work with western water organizations to maintain operational efficiency and increase environmental sustainability in their water systems. As water policy and practice continue to evolve, our team is committed to bringing distributed hydropower to waterways across the world.