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Natural Resources Law Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Natural Resources Law

Water Banks In Washington State: A Tool For Climate Resilience, Jennifer J. Seely Jun 2021

Water Banks In Washington State: A Tool For Climate Resilience, Jennifer J. Seely

Washington Law Review

Water banks—a tool for exchanging senior water rights and offsetting new ones—can address multiple problems in contemporary water law. In the era of climate change, water banks enable needed flexibility and resilience in water allocation. As growing cities require new water rights, water banks can repurpose old water for new uses. These advantages should lead the Washington State Legislature to incentivize water banks, but in the 2018 “Hirst fix” it embraced habitat restoration as a false equivalent for water. The Legislature is rightfully concerned about the speculation that some private water banks allow. But overall, water banks enable new and …


Water Law—Quantification Of Water Rights Claimed Under The Implied Reservation Doctrine For National Forests—United States V. New Mexico, 438 U.S. 696 (1978), Michael Wrenn Oct 1979

Water Law—Quantification Of Water Rights Claimed Under The Implied Reservation Doctrine For National Forests—United States V. New Mexico, 438 U.S. 696 (1978), Michael Wrenn

Washington Law Review

United States v. New Mexico is the first Supreme Court decision to quantify reserved water rights available for the national forests. The narrow scope accorded the implied reservation doctrine as applied to the United States' claims for water for recreational and wildlife purposes reflects recognition by the Court that the implied reservation doctrine will be limited in the face of competing claims based on state law. The Court's decision limits federal interests under the reserved rights doctrine without providing adequate protection for the water needs of the national forests. The decision also deprives the implied reservation doctrine of the flexibility …