John Fleck

John Fleck

John Fleck is a former journalist and the director of the University of New Mexico Water Resources Program. He has spent over twenty years writing about water issues and climate in the western United States.

His book Water Is for Fighting Over offers a refreshing and hopeful look at the ongoing water challenges in the American West, especially in the Colorado River Basin.

Fleck examines how cooperation, adaptation, and innovation have helped communities manage limited water supplies for more than a century.

He acknowledges the serious difficulties faced by Western water users and policymakers. However, he also highlights the creative ways people have resolved disputes and found balance even within outdated legal systems. The book describes how networks of stakeholders have managed water resources through collaboration rather than confrontation.

One of the book’s strengths lies in its detailed examples. Fleck discusses how cities like Las Vegas prepared for drought by installing new pipelines from Lake Mead to ensure access even as water levels dropped. He also explores how major cities such as Las Vegas and Albuquerque have made remarkable progress in reducing per-person water use.

Fleck supports his arguments with insights from Nobel Prize–winning economist Elinor Ostrom, whose research shows how communities can successfully manage shared resources through trust and collective decision-making.

The book’s subtitle captures this spirit: Western water management is not only about fighting but also about learning to share and adapt. Fleck concludes that while tough times are ahead, the West is not on the brink of running out of water. Adaptation, foresight, and negotiation will continue to shape its future.
The author also examines the complex role of agriculture, which consumes most of the region’s water. While cities impose conservation rules, such as banning lawn sprinklers, real change requires farmers to adjust as well. Fleck offers examples of farmers already shifting practices and expresses cautious optimism that agriculture can continue to adapt. He also points out how crops such as alfalfa could be moved to wetter regions to reduce pressure on the basin.

Overall, Water Is for Fighting Over sheds light on the paradox of the American West’s “rugged individualism,” and shows how it depends heavily on taxpayer-funded, centrally planned water infrastructure.

This system has long moved water from one region to another, and Fleck explains that this inter-basin movement is not an exception but the norm, which forms the backbone of western development.
The book also touches on the economic side of water management. Fleck notes that water is not priced in a true market, which would help signal scarcity and value. Still, he shows that water rights have real financial worth and play a key role in negotiations among cities, states, and environmental groups.

In the end, Fleck’s message is both realistic and optimistic. He emphasizes that people have repeatedly learned to live with less water and that cooperation remains the key to survival. As Colorado River manager Eric Kuhn aptly states, “Optimistic or pessimistic— isn’t the answer the same? We’ll use the water nature gives us.”

What makes Water Is for Fighting Over unique is its balanced perspective, which blends history, policy, and human stories to show how resilience and collaboration can overcome even the most daunting environmental challenges.

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John Fleck: F.A.Q