Conjunctive management of surface and ground -water resources on state and local levels is a relatively new political phenomenon. This type of management has evolved, in part, in response to growing populations with ever -increasing, and often conflicting, water demands. In addition, a more sophisticated technical understanding of the physical link between groundwater and surface waters has led water managers to reconsider historical strategies for solving water supply problems. In light of growing demand and improved technology, some western states have begun the transition from crisis- oriented water management to one of long -term planning for population growth and environmental protection. This planning process requires that the constituents of a region define their water use goals and objectives so that various approaches to conjunctive management may be evaluated for their suitability to that particular physical and socio- political environment.

This research presents the Colorado River basin as a social-ecological system. Utilizing event data on cooperative and conflictive interactions over fresh water, the system is decomposed to look for evidence of outcomes of resilience enhancement. The Animas-La Plata Project in the upper San Juan basin is presented as a case study, and qualitative methods are used to analyze interactions that led to its construction in order to assess social-ecological outcomes. In the upper San Juan basin, cooperative interactions over fresh water outnumbered conflictive ones. Interactions over water rights and infrastructure were most common, and the most cooperative interactions focused on these issue types. Many of these interactions focused on the Animas-La Plata Project compromise, which ultimately enhances social-ecological resilience in the Colorado River basin. / Graduation date: 2012