The earth is
71% covered
by water...
Earth is the
only planet
known to have
water in all
three phases
(gas, liquid,
and solid)
It never
disappears, as
it is perfectly
recycled
Our Wonderful Water World
A solar-powered water world!
A water shortage?
 With a planet covered in water?
 With perfect solar powered recycling taking
place constantly?
 HOW can one claim that water is a resource
in crisis?
The Water Cycle... Perfect recycling
Ecclesiastes 1:7
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the
rivers come, thither they return again
 Ocean water 97.2%
 Polar Ice 2.15%
 97.2 + 2.15 = 99.35%
 .65% of global water supply is the amount
generally available for human use.
The problem with water…
 uneven distribution… some areas have too
much water, others much less than
necessary
 And when it is present, the water is often in
a condition that makes it unacceptable for
specific uses… e.g. salty or polluted or full
of sediment
The approximate location of the 100th Meridian… the traditional
dividing line between the humid east and the arid west
Water Laws… east vs. west
 East of the 100th Meridian in the US, water
is generally abundant
 The law governing water allocation in the
East is the same as in Europe… the
Riparian doctrine
 West of the 100th Meridian, water is
governed by an entirely different set of
assumptions Prior Use doctrine or
APPROPRIATION DOCTRINE
The background…
 Spanish water law emphasized the need for fair division
of the available water. All water was owned by the
king. While the water rights of individuals were to be
protected, the rights of the community weighed more
heavily than those of the individual.
 English water law was relatively simple being formed
where water was abundant and conflicts over its use
rare. The navigable waters of England belonged to the
Crown and were available to the public for the purposes
of navigation and fishing.
 Rights to the use of waters were held by those who
owned the banks of the streams
Riparian Doctrine
 Water flowing in defined watercourses is treated
under riparian doctrine.
 Rights arise from ownership of real property
underlying or bordering a stream or river.
 A riparian right is the right to use water flowing in a
stream on riparian land. No right to divert a
specific quantity of water is obtained.
 A riparian may use all water necessary for
domestic use (drinking, bathing, cooking, laundry,
livestock watering, and other uses essential to the
preservation of life and health).
 If there is insufficient flow to maintain all domestic
and non-domestic uses, domestic uses have
priority.
Riparian Doctrine contd.
 Riparian users are entitled to "reasonable use"
which may cause some diminution of streamflow
so long as other riparians are not "unreasonably"
harmed.
 The landowner does not own the water itself but
rather the right to use it on his riparian land.
 Based on English ‘Common Law’ adjudicated in
the courts
Appropriation (Prior Use)
Doctrine
 First in time of use is first in right (i.e.,
the earliest appropriator on a stream has
the first right to use the water), and
 Application of the water to a beneficial
use is the basis and measure of the right.
 The law in virtually all western states.
Water in the west…
 Eighty percent of the Nation’s water is used in
the West—most of it for agriculture
 Water left in the stream is considered ‘wasted’
 Water rights exist as a legal entity independent
of the land.
BLUE states generally use riparian doctrine.
GREEN states generally are considered regulated riparian.
RED states generally use the prior appropriation doctrine.
GRAY states use mixed approaches.
Defining ‘beneficial’
 Beneficial use has two components: the
nature or purpose of the use and the
efficient or non-wasteful use of water.
 Keeping water in the stream is
considered ‘wasteful’
 The issue of anadromous fish!
Water and Wildlife
 The special case of Salmon in the Pacific
Northwest
 In the Columbia River basin, development
was modeled on the Tennessee River
system
 The entire river system is controlled by a
series of dams that provide hydroelectric
power, make the river navigable and provide
‘recreation’ opportunities
Salmon…. More than resource… a
spiritual identity for the region
“IN Stream flow”
 There is a benefit to fish (esp. temperature
sensitive fish species like salmon and trout)
of keeping water in the stream
 This benefit can be expressed in economic
terms
 Some of the most successful programs
transfer $ from advocacy groups to ranchers
to purchase forage crops for their cattle…
forgoing using their water rights to irrigate
pastures/hay fields.
Water...
Water Use:
Withdrawal vs. consumption
irrigation consumes the
highest percent (81 percent)
commercial the lowest (1
percent)
The difference between the
volume of water withdrawn
and that consumed is the
return flow.
Irrigation
81% of water used for Irrigation is ‘consumed’...
Removed from the water system
(evapo-transpiration) and it is by far the most
consumptive use of water.
Technology has made irrigation much more
efficient....
Drip Irrigation has single emitters for each plant
How much water is consumed? How much is returned to the hydrologic cycle?
Issues: non-point source pollution
 The tragedy of the commons!
 Externalizing costs
 The 1977 “Clean Water Act” provided
federal guidelines and control over point
source pollution.
 Non-Point source pollution... Who is
responsible? How can it be controlled?
 Agricultural land use... The sacred institution
of ‘the family farm’
Ground Water…
 According to the USGS, in 2000 21% of
water used in the United States
 69.8 Billion gallons /day came from groundwater sources
 68 percent, was used for irrigation
 19 percent was used for public water
supplies
 99% of ‘self supplied’ water sources were
ground water (a well)
Ground Water Withdrawals by State, 2000
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wugw.html
Groundwater ‘mining’...
 In some areas, notably the Ogallala Basin in
the central great plains groundwater
withdrawal has exceeded recharge of the
aquifer.
 Wells are constantly drilled deeper, bigger
pumps installed... The end of a region?
Water Wars…
 “… as we see, the actual history of armed
water conflict is somewhat less dramatic
than the water wars literature would lead
one to believe…. As near as we can find,
there has never been a single war fought
over water”
Aaron Wolf, Oregon State University
Water wars?
 No conflict has yet been fought over water.
 Water law is one of the few places where
negotiation appears to have worked
 http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/
 Transboundary Freshwater Dispute
Database
The Golan Heights...source region for the Jordan River
Even here, water has not been the source of conflict
Cost of water?
 Abundant water is available virtually everywhere
on the planet…
 Cheap water is available in only a limited number
of places
 Water will run uphill to $
 The Los Angles Basin sits next to/on the largest
body of water on the planet! But ocean water is
salty…the technology to remove salt is simple and
available… however it is expensive. It is cheaper
to acquire water from other regions and ship it.
Cost of water…
 If the cost of water is not reflected in its allocation
then inefficiency is bound to occur.
 Irrigation rights… no additional cost for the last
water used…. There is no incentive to conserve.
 Subsidized water… some estimates place the
subsidy as high as 90% for American agriculture
(the farmer pays just 10% of the cost of the
water)… incentives to conserve are limited
Inter basin transfers
 The Owens valley project
 North American Water and Power Alliance
[NAWAPA]
 Making beneficial use of ‘excess’ or ‘wasted’
water.
Water in the west….
 1878, John Wesley Powell published
Report on the Lands of the Arid Region
 He knew settlement of the western US
would be governed by limited water supplies
 Powell wanted to organize settlements
around water and watersheds, which would
force water users to conserve the scarce
resource (and protect the watershed
because everyone would be impacted)
Bureau of reclamation
 Established in 1902
 Controls over 600 dams in 17 Western
States
 20% of Western farmers rely on BuRec
water
 58 powerplants annually provide more than
40 billion kilowatt hours
 http://www.usbr.gov/main/about/