Water is arguably the world’s most precious resource, and learning water law is vital to understanding the present and future of water access. Generally, water law refers to the laws that govern ownership, access to, and management of water contained in rivers, lakes, and aquifers, as well as the land that immediately underlies those water resources.
Specifically, this class will cover: the distinction in surface water interests between the riparian doctrine in the wetter eastern United States and the prior appropriation doctrine in the more arid western United States; groundwater interests in shared aquifers; the public trust doctrine; water inequality; dams and watercourse management; takings claims; federal water interests; interstate compacts; Supreme Court original jurisdiction over interstate water disputes; water rights in Indian country; transnational management of shared surface waters and aquifers; and the common enemy doctrine governing water redirection. In the examination of those topics, we will consider relationships of water law to issues of development and economic policy.