Water Resource Management: A Casebook in Law and Public Policy, Fourth edition, AD Tarlock, JN Corbridge Jr., DH Getches, ( New York: The Foundation Press, Inc., 1993), 930pp.
Justifying aspirations; administrative procedures, litigation; applicable to water issues; written for first and third party participants.
Water Resource Management: A Casebook in Law and Public Policy, as the title states, is a casebook in water resource law. As such its focus is upon the adjudication of water resource laws and recent litigation regarding same.
Water Resource Management: A Casebook in Law and Public Policy is reguired reading for LAWS 6302 as taught by Professor David Getches. This work is divided into eight chapters, each focusing on a particular aspect of water resource law. This work will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of water law, specifically, recent litigation and the resultant precedents. The first chapter is an overview of water law with several authors represented in discussions about water: supply, demand and quality. Economic issues are also briefly addressed.
Chapter two focuses upon riparian law by examination of its common law development as reflected in: litigation and current tort doctrine, permit systems, water quality rights and the transfer and loss of riparian rights. Chapter three addresses prior appropriation. After exploring the roots and evolution of prior appropriation, the authors outline the elements of appropriation. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to: statutory overlay, protecting the public interest, transfers, loss, property rights and constitutional takings.
Rights to surface use of waterbodies is explored through the examination of: the public trust in navigable water, rights to surface use among riparians and expanding public rights to surface use. Chapter five is devoted to the management of groundwater. After a brief introduction to the geology and economics of groundwater the remainder of the chapter is divided between individual rights in groundwater, and groundwater allocation and the public interest.
The next chapter presents litigation involving the three primary water distribution organisations: private companies, municipal service, and special water districts. The penultimate chapter considers federal allocation and control of water resources as divided into three sub-topics: planning and development of water resources, federal limits on state export restrictions, and rights reserved for Indian and public lands. The final chapter examines interstate allocation of water. The adjudication section is of special interest to Western water interests, while the interstate compacts section is of broader concern. The final section is concerned with congressional apportionment, with a special focus on the Colorado river. The main text is followed by two appendices which offer a table of water equivalents and, sources of water law and resources literature.
Water Resource Management: A Casebook in Law and Public Policy, offers a legal perspective on the development of water law in the United States, particularly in the West. The historical and current cases presented offer a comprehensive view of legal precedent in water resource management.