Law Commons^™

Making A Wrong Thing Right: Ending The "Spread" Of Reclamation Project Water, Reed D. Benson, Kimberley J. Priestley

Faculty Scholarship

In the Pacific Northwest, especially east of the Cascade Range, water is a limited and precious resource. Diversions of water for out-of-stream uses regularly dry up certain reaches of many rivers and streams. Such diversions provide water for municipalities, industrial users, and farmers who irrigate millions of acres in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Diversions also harm fish and wildlife (including threatened and endangered salmon stocks), impair recreational uses of affected waterways, and degrade water quality.