The Case for Data-Centered Convening: A New Pathway for Interstate Water Governance

Interstate water management is a highly contested domain in American environmental governance. Competing claims over shared rivers, aquifers, and watersheds have produced decades of litigation, failed compacts, and entrenched political standoffs. Despite widespread recognition that these disputes must be resolved, the institutional mechanisms for doing so have largely stalled.

This policy brief builds on the 2026 Aspen National Water Strategy, Recommendation 2.A Basin & Regional Governance: Make more effective use of basin- and regional-scale governance for compliance, financing, planning, and management. The authors recommend strategies for applying this recommendation, particularly within the context of river basin commissions, interstate water organizations, and other inter-jurisdictional bodies seeking to advance collaborative governance on shared water challenges. The authors welcome questions and comments and seek to foster discussion about paths to implementing the strategies described.