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If government on the US takes away water rights, and thereby decreases the value of land, the 5th Amendment requires compensation to the land owners.
by RecycledEle 3y ago
If government on the US takes away water rights, and thereby decreases the value of land, the 5th Amendment requires compensation to the land owners.
- grecy 3y agoIn the coming decades when clean drinking water runs out they won't have to take it away.
- kmeisthax 3y agoCould this be abused to reinterpret the Takings Clause as a right to water access? If only to give the finger to Nestle.
- amluto 3y agoI don’t know what the Supreme Court thinks, but I’m not convinced. If the government takes away your land or your building or your gold, that’s eminent domain. But these water rights are permission to take water in the future that may or may not ever show up (and increasingly does not show up), and they may de facto not be usable regardless of any government action. Alternatively, don’t take them away — just tax them. Set a price for water such that there is no scarcity (keeping in mind that the money collected can be used to reclaim, desalinate or otherwise acquire more water), and let anyone else buy water at the same price, and poof they’re still there but no longer worth much.
- raldi 3y agoIt’s not so straightforward. If the government zones your land to forbid something, the Supreme Court long ago concluded they don’t owe you anything.
- ClumsyPilot 3y agoIf the value of my house falls because there is no longer bus service, can I claim compensation? Why do you think my ‘bus rights’ are any less real than these fictitious ‘water rights’ When there is air pollution affecting price of my property, or someone built something to spoil the view, should I claim compensation too?