From today’s newspaper, my story (sub/ad req) about a Senate hearing earlier this week that touched on a study of water supply and demand now getting underway in the Colorado River Basin.

The story’s brief, but the hearing raised what I think is a very interesting question:

While individual states have looked at their own water supply and demand situation, the basin lacks a comprehensive study of the overall water picture, said John Entsminger of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency that provides Las Vegas with its water.

The study, which is just getting under way and is expected to take two years to complete, drew some criticism. Groups concerned about the need to leave water in rivers for ecosystem preservation have been largely left out of the discussions about the study, said Melinda Kassen of the environmental and sport fishing advocacy group Trout Unlimited.

Expect to hear more about the extent to which environmental flows get a seat at the table as the study is being done. (More on the details of the study via USBR.)