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Antiques Roadshow: The Common Law And The Coming Age Of Groundwater Marketing, Dean Baxtresser

Michigan Law Review

Groundwater law in the United States is ill suited to deal with the issue of groundwater marketing. As freshwater shortages become more common with increasing population and a warming climate, scholars and business people are touting water markets as the solution to conservation and distribution, as well as a source of hefty profits. T Boone Pickens-the famous oil tycoon of Texas-has turned this concept into reality with his attempt to exploit the groundwater of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Texas Panhandle for thirsty Texas cities. Despite the looming water shortages, however, states have not adapted their laws to deal with …