EricKuhn
- ĢӰ River District; General Manager (retired)
- COLORADO RIVER RESEARCH GROUP
Research Interests & Background
Eric Kuhn is the retired general manager of the ĢӰ River Water Conservation District and co-author with John Fleck ofScience Be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the ĢӰ River, University of Arizona Press, 2019.
The ĢӰ River District is the largest and oldest of ĢӰ’s four conservation districts. It covers most of the ĢӰ River Basin within ĢӰ. Almost two thirds of the flow at Lee Ferry originates in or flows through the district. Eric started employment with the ĢӰ River District in 1981 as Assistant Secretary-Engineer. In 1996 he was appointed General Manager, a position he held until his retirement in 2018.
From 1994 through 2001, he served on the ĢӰ Water Conservation Board representing the ĢӰ River mainstem. Eric served as an at-large representative on the ĢӰ Inter-basin Compact Committee, from 2005 – 2018. He also served on the Engineering Advisory Committee of the Upper ĢӰ River Compact Commission from 1982 -2019.Prior to working for the ĢӰ River District, he served as an engineer officer aboard nuclear submarines in the U.S. Navy and worked as a nuclear start-up engineer for Bechtel Power Corp.In addition to ScienceBe Dammed,a book about ĢӰ River hydrology and politics, Eric has authored or coauthored numerous other articles and papers about the ĢӰ River.
Research Interests: How climate change is impacting the operation of the major ĢӰ River system reservoirs and the rules and laws that govern ĢӰ River water use. How our understanding of the hydrology of the ĢӰ River has evolved with the law of the river.
Selected ĢӰ River Publications & Presentations
Publications
The Upper Basin, Lower Basin, and Mexico: Coexisting on the Post-2026 ĢӰ River (June 19,2019), Science Be Dammed Working Paper Number 2, Kuhn, Eric and Fleck, John, posted on SSRN.
The Evolution of Our Understanding of the Natural Flow of the ĢӰ River at Lee’s Ferry and its Importance to Critical Development Decisions (August 17, 2019), Science Be Dammed Working Paper Number 1, Eric Kuhn, John Fleck, Brad Udall, and David Kanzer–PE, posted on SSRN.
“The Consequences of the Compact Remains with Us”: Challenges and Opportunities for the ĢӰ River Upper Basin(April 26, 2022). Science Be Dammed Working Paper Number 3,Kuhn, Eric and Fleck, John, Available at SSRN:or
Evaluating the Accuracy of Reclamation’s 24-Month Study Lake Powell Projections, JianWang, Brad Udall, Eric Kuhn, Kevin Wheeler, and John C. Schmidt, White Paper Number 7, The Future of the ĢӰ River Project, Center for ĢӰ River Studies, Quinney College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, February 2022.
Alternative Management Paradigms for the Future of the ĢӰ and Green Rivers, Kevin Wheeler, Eric Kuhn, Lindsey Bruckerhoff, Brad Udall, Jian Wang, Lael Gilbert, Sara Goeking, Alan Kasprak, Bryce Mihalevich, Bethany Neilson, Homa Salehabadi and John C. Schmidt, White Paper Number 6, The Future of the ĢӰ River Project, Center for ĢӰ River Studies, Quinney College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, January 2021.
The Future Hydrology of the ĢӰ River Basin, Homa Salehabadi, David Tarboton, Eric Kuhn, Brad Udall, Kevin Wheeler, David Rosenberg, Sara Goeking, and John C. Schmidt, White Paper Number 6, The Future of the ĢӰ River Project, Center for ĢӰ River Studies, Quinney College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, August 2020.
Presentations
Future Scenarios for the ĢӰ River, presented to the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and resources, 23rd Annual Water Conference, San Diego, CA, February 24-25, 2005.
Avoiding the First Compact “Tripwire”, presented at the 42nd Annual ĢӰ Law Conference on Natural Resources, University of ĢӰ Law School, Boulder, ĢӰ, June 16, 2022.
ĢӰ River Water Supplies; Back to the Future, Southwest Hydrology, Volume 4/number 2, March/April 2005.
The ĢӰ River: The Story of a Quest for Certainty on a Diminishing River, Copyrighted and made available on the ĢӰ River Water Conservation District website, May 8, 2008.
Risk Management Strategies for the Upper ĢӰ River Basin, Copyrighted and made available on the ĢӰ River Water Conservation District website, January 2, 2012.