“There's an unrealistic expectation that we can continue to do things the way that great-grandpa did. And we are probably already two generations past that.”

On the Yampa River in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, you might say it’s still the wild west — even in September of 2019. Here, the ranchers who use the river’s water aren’t bound by the strict regulations that govern the rest of the state. But as more than a decade of drought and aridity takes its toll, things must change: and the government is taking that change into its own hands. In this episode, we meet water commissioner Scott Hummer, who is on call 24/7, faces down bears and is legally allowed to trespass on private ranchland. If the Yampa is the wild west of water, Hummer is one of its sheriffs. Like it or not, he says, things here in the Yampa River Valley are about to change.

“I believe there's still an assumption by the father, or the grandfather, that the grandson's gonna follow in their footsteps. And that just may not be the case. And if they haven't taken into account that that may not be the case, and they do want to leave some type of monetary inheritance, then they need to seriously start measuring their water because they don't have anything in reality without it.”

What’s so important about water anyway (besides the obvious)?

In Colorado — one of the driest places in the West — water is gold. In this state, water is often more expensive than land, sometimes by millions of dollars. The laws that surround water (and its use) in the Rocky Mountains are complex and often emotional. The river is precious to ranchers like Steve Williams of Glas Deffryn Ranch, who takes great pains to conserve and repurpose the water his fluffy Scottish Highland cows drink. We also talk to Water Division 6 engineer Erin Light and water commissioner Scott Hummer, who break down exactly why they’re asking folks on the Yampa River to start measuring how much water they use. And if the ranchers in their division won’t comply? The state will fine them a whopping $500 per day.

“Even though there's that white, snow-capped mountain, it's an illusion. Snowpack is an illusion that we live in a wet place, period. It's not real. It's false. So, not only do we have the challenge of educating our generational water users, but we have a burden to try to get newcomers to understand why we do things the way we do.”

We already know water has a monetary value — but what’s the real value? If you ask officials and water users across the state of Colorado, they’ll tell you: it’s incalculable.

Water rights expert Anne Castle of the Getches-Wilkinson Center at CU Boulder explains how Colorado water rights legally work while water commissioner Scott Hummer talks about how Colorado water itself works, and what the future of that water might look like as climate change and population growth take their toll on the West.

“I think that we have, all over the state, enjoyed having enough water to go around, and we've built our houses and our ski areas, and we've irrigated our farms and gotten food from the farms and ranches based on the water supply that we had. But that water supply is changing, and it's shrinking for the most part. And that is going to mean changes in our lifestyles that people haven't really thought too much about because they haven't had to.”

Water commissioner Scott Hummer says that use has a consequence — and in this episode, we try to understand what exactly that consequence might be. Steamboat rancher Marsha Daughenbaugh still lives in the house she was born in, on land her family has owned for generations. She understands why ranchers are reluctant to see the river change — even though they know that change might be the face of things to come.

“Occasionally, I hear someone say, ‘Oh my goodness, agriculture has so much water. Surely they can give it up.’ And I always come back and say, which part of the food chain would you like to give up? Regardless of how you feel socially about meat or grains, it still is going to take water to keep those people in business and those products on your table.”

In the final episode of “The Wild West of Water,” we look ahead to the future. What will happen if water use on the Yampa River — and the West in general — doesn’t change? What exactly is a compact call, and why is the state floating a demand management program? Anne Castle, water rights expert, explains.

We meet Mike Hogue, a Steamboat rancher who gives us a more complete look at the angst of water users on the Yampa River, and Scott Hummer writes to us during the COVID-19 pandemic with an update. While the long-term consequences of climate change and development are as ever-changing and unpredictable as the Yampa River itself, everyone agrees on one thing: water is life.