Meeting/Event Information
March 2026 Lunch Talk
The Colorado River Basin + Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty
The Colorado River Basin is the lifeblood to 150 at-risk species, nearly 40 million people, and is a driver of economies, agriculture, and recreation. The operations of the two main reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead, impact all stakeholders. The operating agreements governing Lakes Powell and Mead expire this year, and the Bureau of Reclamation is leading the NEPA process to replace them—a high-stakes decision complicated by overallocated water supplies, competing stakeholder priorities, and deep uncertainty in future hydrology and demand. To support an inclusive and technically rigorous process, Reclamation partnered with the University of Colorado and Virga Labs to build a publicly available web platform where stakeholders can design and evaluate operational strategies under a Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU) framework. The tool offers over 100 metrics spanning water supply, hydropower, environmental outcomes, and recreation. This platform represents an advancement in the ability of policymakers at Reclamation to collaborate with stakeholders in the generation and analysis of technical information. In this talk, we will highlight this example of a successful multi-year partnership between a government agency, academia, and private industry to create an innovative tool that is supporting an impactful and transparent long-term planning process.
Speaker: Natalie Daniels, Virga Labs
Natalie aims to use her background in mathematics and environmental science to better understand the challenging questions at the intersection of data and climate. Natalie has spent the past four years at Virga Labs where she leverages data to drive understanding of complex systems and empowers people to make better decisions. Born and raised in Tucson, AZ and currently living in Broomfield, CO, Natalie has always called the southwest her home and is excited to work in the field she is passionate about.
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