The UN Retired "Water Crisis." The Replacement Term Is "Water Bankruptcy."

In January, the UN University retired "water crisis." The replacement is "water bankruptcy." Crisis suggests a bad quarter you recover from. Bankruptcy means the principal is gone.

The Colorado River is the proof of concept. It underwrites $1.4 trillion in regional economic activity on allocations from 1922, and its flows have dropped roughly 20 percent since 2000. Lead author Kaveh Madani: "It's a permanent new condition." Financial language was chosen deliberately. Municipal bonds and property values across the Southwest are still priced as though the river delivers what the compact promises.