Water Law Commons^™

Current Challenges In The Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin: Old Disputes In A New Century, Regina M. Buono, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

The Rio Grande River traverses 2000 kilometres of the international border between Mexico and the United States. The river and its tributaries are governed by a series of border treaties and institutions, as well as under the domestic laws of each nation. Often lauded for enabling innovative and collaborative governance, in recent years the complicated regime has come under pressure as domestic and international water governance institutions struggle under the strain of climate change, population growth, and other stressors on water supply and demand in the region. This chapter considers three of the major challenges currently facing the Rio Grande …

Groundwater Exceptionalism: The Disconnect Between Law And Science, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

Most judges, legislators, and regulators would be hard-pressed to articulate a comprehensive legal theory of groundwater. And yet, this under-appreciated, over-used, life-sustaining resource plays an increasingly pivotal role in prominent legal controversies. In defiance of hydrologic reality, lawmakers have routinely singled out groundwater for unique treatment and decoupled it from surface water. This Article dubs such phenomenon “groundwater exceptionalism,” and identifies groundwater as an under-theorized aspect of both property law and water law. It brings to light the numerous legal doctrines infected by exceptionalism, including state water rights law, the federal reserved rights doctrine, the apportionment of interstate waters, and …

Maintenance Of Water And Sewer Infrastructure In Response To Sea Level Rise In Massachusetts, Melissa Chalek

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Reliant On Aquifers: When Groundwater Extraction Depletes Surface Water Flows, Paul Stanton Kibel, Julie Gantenbein

Publications

IN CALIFORNIA, surface waters have historically been regulated as if they were unconnected to groundwater. Yet in reality, surface waters and groundwater are often hydrologically connected. Many of the rivers that support fisheries such as salmon and trout are hydrologically dependent on tributary groundwater to maintain instream flow. This means that when there is intensive pumping of tributary groundwater, the result can be reductions in instream flow and damage to fisheries. For this reason, stakeholders concerned with adequate instream flows for fisheries in California's rivers, streams, and creeks need to be effectively engaged in the implementation of California's Sustainable Groundwater …

Dustbowl Waters: Doctrinal And Legislative Solutions To Save The Ogallala Aquifer Before Both Time And Water Run Out, Warigia M. Bowman

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

Eighty-three years after the Dust Bowl, residents of America’s High Plains face a dire threat: their primary aquifer faces depletion, and entire sections of the country are set to run out of groundwater by the end of the century or sooner. The Ogallala Aquifer provides a significant amount of America’s agricultural irrigation water and is a primary source of drinking water for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. This Article argues that policymakers should slow the Aquifer’s depletion rate by implementing changes to irrigation technology, crop choice, consumer behavior, legal doctrine, and legislation. This Article …

An Aquifer Betrayed: The Monterey Desalinization Project At Odds With California Water Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

The California American Water Company's Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (Cal-Am Project) is a proposed desalinization facility in Monterey County that was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in September 2018. The Cal- Am Project would treat water pumped from inland coastal groundwater aquifers-the Dune Sand Aquifer and the 180-Foot Aquifer-rather than water pumped directly from the ocean. The Cal-Am Project's pumping of these coastal aquifers is expected to result in increased seawater intrusion in groundwater.

The Marina Coast Water District and the City of Marina filed petitions with the California Supreme Court alleging violations of the California …

Calming Troubled Waters: Local Solutions, Part I, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 1861, the Ohio Supreme Court adopted the Absolute Use Rule to govern groundwater, essentially allowing landowners its unencumbered use. The opinion noted that the behavior of subterranean water was “occult and mysterious” and that it was beyond the competence of judges to determine its appropriate use. The Ohio court reversed course in 1984 and adopted the Reasonable Use Rule. By then, scientific knowledge had advanced to the point that the interconnected movement of water was more readily discoverable. The court noted that a primary goal of water law should be to conform to hydrologic fact. This Article explores the …

Owning Groundwater: The Example Of Mississippi V. Tennessee, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

In Mississippi v. Tennessee, a case currently on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket, Mississippi claims that it owns all groundwater stored underneath its borders that does not cross into Tennessee under “natural predevelopment” conditions—before the advent of modern well technology. Mississippi seeks more than six hundred million dollars for pumping by Tennessee wells that tap into a geologic formation that underlies both states. This is a remarkable claim that departs from the almost uniformly established proposition that the states do not “own” the water within their borders, but instead are authorized to manage that water for the “use” of …

Exempt Wells And Agriculture, Jesse Richardson, Iris Aloi

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Slides: Drought In The Murray Darling Basin: A 100 Year Perspective, Daniel Connell

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Daniel Connell, Australian National University

22 slides

Slides: Water Management In Spain, Teodoro Estrela

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Teodoro Estrela, Júcar River Basin Authority, Spain

15 slides

Slides: Scarcity And Bc's Water Future - The Evolution Of Western Water Law?, Oliver M. Brandes

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Oliver M. Brandes, University of Victoria

28 slides

Slides: Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, Tony Mcleod

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Tony McLeod, MDBA, Murray-Darling Basin Authority

17 slides

Slides: Food For Thought: Water Requirements For Social-Ecological Systems, Michael Douglas, Sue Jackson

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenters:

Michael Douglas, University of Western Australia, Charles Darwin University

Sue Jackson, Griffith University

35 slides

Unlimited Rights In A Water-Scarce World? Quantification Of Dormant Rights To Common Pool Groundwater, Jennifer L. Harder

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Forgetting Nature: The Importance Of Including Environmental Flows In International Water Agreements, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

From the moment States created political boundaries to define their territory, they have shared water. There are 263 transboundary lake and river basins worldwide and 300 known transboundary aquifer systems. Whenever sharing is present, the opportunity for conflict is too. Climate change and increasing population are only two factors that may lead to increasing conflict if attention is not given to these situations. Thankfully, sharing water also creates an opportunity for cooperation. Throughout the world, there are increasing examples of conflict and cooperation regarding shared water resources. International water agreements can promote regional peace and security and encourage economic growth. …

Slides: Wrapping Up The Big Horn Adjudication: Lessons After 38 Years And 20,000 Claims, Ramsey L. Kropf

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ramsey L. Kropf, Deputy Solicitor for Water Resources, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior

34 slides

Slides: Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste, Lester Snow

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Lester Snow, Executive Director, California Water Foundation

39 slides

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Slides: Urban Water Reliability And The Salton Sea: Can We Have Both?, Michael Cohen

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate, Pacific Institute

29 slides

Slides: Six Decades Of Texas Water Planning, Ronald Kaiser

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ronald Kaiser, Professor of Water Law and Policy, Chair of Graduate Water Degree Program, Texas A&M University

32 slides

Slides: New Era Of Water Banking And Refined "Water Accounting", Bonnie Colby

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Professor Bonnie Colby, Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona

23 slides

Plain Meaning, Precedent, And Metaphysics: Interpreting The “Navigable Waters” Element Of The Federal Water Pollution Offense, Jeffrey G. Miller

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article, the third in a series of five, examines the meaning of “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act. It traces the traditional judicial interpretation of navigable waters and how Congress and EPA attempted to extend its meaning, then examines how the term has been applied in the context of tributaries and wetlands, isolated waters, groundwater, and EPA’s unitary theory of navigable waters. The author then analyzes EPA and the Corps’ 2014 proposed amendments to the definition of “waters of the United States,” and concludes that those amendments may resolve much of the interpretive crisis.

Slides: Oil, Gas And Water: Addressing Water Quantity And Quality Concerns, Laura Belanger

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: Laura Belanger, P.E., Water Resources Engineer, Western Resource Advocates

14 slides

2014 Martz Summer Conference Poster Session, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. Airwatergas Sustainability Research Network

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

1 page.

This Conference is presented by the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment, in conjunction with the Air-Water-Gas Sustainability Research Network. Technological advances for extracting oil and gas from shale deposits have ushered in a new era of energy development in key resource-rich pockets throughout the US. In this event, we review the ongoing efforts of governments and industry to develop the regulatory and management practices necessary to protect water and air resources, drawing on the latest scientific research to tackle areas of uncertainty and to inform future action.

Slides: Best Management Practices For Oil And Gas Development And Comparative Water Quality Database Of Regulations Relating To Shale Oil And Gas, Matt Samelson, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Fracking, Water Quality and Public Health: Examining Current Laws and Regulations (March 20)

Presenter: Matt Samelson, J.D., Attorney, Consultant for Intermountain Oil and Gas Best Management Practices (BMP) Project, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment, University of Colorado Law School

34 slides

Scientific, Legal, And Ethical Foundations For Texas Water Law., Gabriel Eckstein, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

Water law is the field of law concerned with the ownership, control, and use of water resources, both surface and subsurface. Although most closely related to property law, recent developments in other legal fields, especially in environmental law, have heavily influenced the interpretation, application, and development of water law. As a result, water law today encompasses a broad perspective and often takes into account individual and community rights, environmental issues, commerce and economics, and other societal and legal concerns. Significantly, modern water law is also an interdisciplinary practice. In light of the continuously expanding body of knowledge of the hydrologic …

Texas Groundwater And Tragically Stable “Crossovers”, Zachary A. Bray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

One recurring question in the academic literature on common-pool resources relates to the persistence of “tragic” commons regimes—systems that encourage, or at least tolerate, the inefficient, wasteful, hazardous, or unfair exploitation of a resource that is easily accessed for and diminished by individual use and consumption. Of course, not all commons are tragic: some common-pool resources invite individual access in efficient, fair, and durable ways. Yet many commonly held resources do lie under systems of governance that are not just tragic but persistently and stubbornly so. Often the tragic aspects of such commons regimes are well known; indeed, for some …

Groundwater Challenges In Spain: Lessons From The Western Mancha Aquifer, Pedro Martinez-Santos

Publications

No abstract provided.

Slides: Overview Of Colorado Aquifer Systems, Christopher J. Sanchez

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Christopher J. Sanchez, P.G., BBA Water Consultants, Bishop-Brogden Associates, Inc.

28 slides