3 ms·

Can anyone recommend an authoritative blog, explainer, other covering water rights in the USA? I volunteered at an Audubon project trying to save the pacific s

Can anyone recommend an authoritative blog, explainer, other covering water rights in the USA? I volunteered at an Audubon project trying to save the pacific salmon. The water rights issues break my brain. Farmers, timber, fisheries, native peoples, power, flood control, sanitation, household use, commerce, industry, etc. I know nothing about this GA vs FL (vs TN) fight. I've heard our legal context in The West is it's own crazy. For instance, IIRC, we have "use it or lose it", so Idaho potato farmers end up growing too many potatoes to avoid risking losing their water rights. Insane, right? I'd love to follow the thought leaders on water stuff. Like maybe create a market for water, so those Idaho farmers could sell / rent their water to others interests. I'd love for the Freedom Markets™ partisans to actually propose market designs and reforms that'd address these kinds of challenges. Similarly, I'd love for the treehuggers to get smart about using markets to more effectively and efficiently allocate scarce resources; a constructive alternative to the never-ending legal battles. After carbon, water will certainly be one of our more pressing policy challenges, for a long while to come. Please set me straight, point me in the right direction.

anonAndOn 6y ago
It's been a long time since I looked into it but water rights are controlled at the individual state level so 50 different takes on who owns what and how... unless you're talking about navigable waterways, which brings in federal jurisdiction, eg this lawsuit.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- beerandt 6y ago
  No- even if the case happens to be about a federal jurisdictional matter (navigable waterway, or waters of the US, or USCOE jurisdictional wetlands, or direct government ownership/agency of included or adjacent property), this one is covered by original jurisdiction to SCOTUS, since both parties are state governments.
donavanm 6y ago
Its dated but _Cadillac Desert_ is a seminal work. Provides excellent background and context for water rights/management/infrastructure in the US in general and the west in particular. I haven't been paying attention to the space for 15 years so no suggestions on current events.
- specialist 6y ago
  Thank you! I somehow had the impression that title was a mystery novel, like the Mulholland Falls or something.
  - donavanm 6y ago
    No problem. As a follow up I stumbled across this 2010 article which re-examines (and confirms most of) Reisners comments 25 years after his publication. https://www.pnas.org/content/107/50/21263 https://www.pnas.org/content/107/50/21263
randycupertino 6y ago
Here's a phenomenal long read deep dive about CA water rights and farmers vs Sacramento and the surprisingly rich family behind the biggest farm in the US- the PomWonderful branded pomegranate drinks in the LATimes California Sunday magazine that I highly recommend- might not get into the technical legalities but at least relevant to your fight: https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-du... Also it's a fascinating read.

anonAndOn 6y ago

It's been a long time since I looked into it but water rights are controlled at the individual state level so 50 different takes on who owns what and how... unless you're talking about navigable waterways, which brings in federal jurisdiction, eg this lawsuit.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
beerandt 6y ago
No- even if the case happens to be about a federal jurisdictional matter (navigable waterway, or waters of the US, or USCOE jurisdictional wetlands, or direct government ownership/agency of included or adjacent property), this one is covered by original jurisdiction to SCOTUS, since both parties are state governments.

donavanm 6y ago

Its dated but _Cadillac Desert_ is a seminal work. Provides excellent background and context for water rights/management/infrastructure in the US in general and the west in particular. I haven't been paying attention to the space for 15 years so no suggestions on current events.

specialist 6y ago
Thank you! I somehow had the impression that title was a mystery novel, like the Mulholland Falls or something.
- donavanm 6y ago
  No problem. As a follow up I stumbled across this 2010 article which re-examines (and confirms most of) Reisners comments 25 years after his publication. https://www.pnas.org/content/107/50/21263 https://www.pnas.org/content/107/50/21263

randycupertino 6y ago

Here's a phenomenal long read deep dive about CA water rights and farmers vs Sacramento and the surprisingly rich family behind the biggest farm in the US- the PomWonderful branded pomegranate drinks in the LATimes California Sunday magazine that I highly recommend- might not get into the technical legalities but at least relevant to your fight: https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-du... Also it's a fascinating read.