Federal agencies, states, tribes and concerned citizens are spending millions of dollars and thousands of hours on waterway restoration projects to reverse decades of poor management and combat the mounting threats of population and climate change.

The confined aquifer under the San Luis Valley is continuing its recovery and may see a brighter future thanks to a recent Colorado Supreme Court decision, according to officials with the Rio Grande Water Conservancy District.

The pressures of growth and drought are placing increasing demands on surface and groundwater supplies and increasing the competition among states and cities. As a result, interstate compacts and other agreements over river flows and groundwater have ended up in court as states have sued each other for reliable supplies.

Managing aquifers is more than a pipe dream in Colorado, and four success stories from around the state were shared this week at a conference looking at state groundwater issues. Stories of successful programs on Fountain Creek, the Rio Grande, the South Platte River and Denver Basin Aquifer were shared at the Colorado Groundwater Management Policy Forum.

Artificially refilling aquifers - even with treated wastewater - may be the best answer for the West's strained water supplies, according to water supply experts. Still, hidden and complex subterranean geology makes aquifer storage an inexact science, said water officials at the American Groundwater Water Trust forum here last week.

The Albuquerque city-county water utility is investigating the effectiveness of recharging the aquifer by dumping river water into an arroyo, where it will seep into the ground naturally. The method could be a good way to store water underground--a savings account of sorts that could be tapped later.

The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority is trying to recharge the aquifer beneath Albuquerque. A small research project will examine how the area can take advantage of extra water that can be saved for the future. The $985,000 project, will divert water from the Rio Grande into an arroyo, where it will seep into the ground.