Of Counsel, Gary Gold Authors Article for The Water Report
Gold’s Article Addresses Water Scarcity Through Collaboration and Innovation
Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK) Of Counsel, Gary Gold, authored an article for The Water Report. Gold’s article, An Antifragile Approach to Water Scarcity, addresses water scarcity in the western United States, and how to work toward a collaborative, more resilient water strategy. Gold suggests that the basin-wide partnerships modeled after Tribal water rights settlements can provide a successful framework for turning challenges into opportunities.
Drawing on his experience negotiating Tribal water rights settlements and leading infrastructure projects across the western U.S., Gold pushes for an “antifragile” approach that uses conflict and stress as opportunities to build stronger and more adaptive water systems. Instead of focusing solely on isolated resilience efforts, he makes the case for long-term partnerships that strengthen entire basins over time.
Gold highlights how negotiated Tribal water rights settlements offer a proven model for this strategy, showing how shared goals can unite those involved and turn disputes into progress. One such example is the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004. The Act assisted in facilitating large-scale conservation and collaborative projects like municipal water recycling. “The way to turn water scarcity from an impediment into an opportunity is through the framework and tools that have been applied for decades in negotiated water rights settlements with Tribal Nations,” Gold writes.
The article ultimately calls for a change in mindset, toward cooperation and long-term thinking, to meet the West’s evolving water challenges. Gold’s full article is available to The Water Report subscribers here.
