As stated on the USCID website:
Accelerating changes in the global climate are changing the way water is managed in the American West. Some of the resulting impacts, such as increased crop water demands, are only beginning to be felt, while others, such as earlier melting of mountain snowpacks, are already well advanced. Water managers will increasingly be confronted with decision situations where old rules and old expectations no longer apply, and new design practices, new operating rules, new management practices, and even new legislation altering water management policies and water rights, will be required. This conference is designed to help prepare water managers for these changes.