Ep 76: Water budgeting and bankruptcy
“More than half of the river basins in the western United States are facing some real challenges and might arguably be in a state of bankruptcy—meaning that the water is not being used in a sustainable way and that we’re consuming more water in many cases than is physically available.”
A conversation with Brian Richter (Sustainable Waters) about budgeting water for the environment and water accounting for the future. Released October 31, 2025.
guests on the show
Brian Richter
Brian Richter has been a global leader in water science and conservation for more than 30 years. He is the president of Sustainable Waters, a global organization focused on water scarcity challenges, where he promotes sustainable water use and management with governments, corporations, universities, and local communities. He previously served as Director of the Global Water Program of The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation organization. Brian has consulted on more than 170 water projects worldwide. He serves as a water advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations, investment banks, and the United Nations, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions. He teaches Water Sustainability at the University of Virginia. Brian has developed scientific tools and methods to support river protection and restoration efforts, including the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration software used by water managers and scientists worldwide. Brian was featured in a BBC documentary with David Attenborough on “How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?” He has published many scientific papers on the importance of ecologically sustainable water management in international journals that have been cited more than 32,000 times. He co-authored a book with Sandra Postel entitled Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature. His latest book, Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability, has now been published in five languages.
TRANSCRIPT
Coming soon!