It's no picnic out west under the Colorado doctrine either. The Colorado River Compact was drafted during an unusually wet period, in absolute rather than relat

It's no picnic out west under the Colorado doctrine either. The Colorado River Compact was drafted during an unusually wet period, in absolute rather than relative terms. Now from tree ring studies we know that, not only does the amount of water allocated not generally flow through the river, but the river system can experience "megadroughts" that can last for decades or even centuries. And we're about twenty years into a drought.