Sometimes when we think of water resources, we assume that a particular state has control over its own supplies such as groundwater and river diversions. But what if a state must share water resources with other states and even other countries? In a time of severe drought as the Southwestern United States is currently facing, how states and nations share limited water resources becomes more complicated and contentious. In this two-part series, I will discuss how treaties and Texas’s negotiations between New Mexico and the country of Mexico have strained both relations and the limits of a scarce resource that each party needs. Let’s first discuss the challenges between Mexico and Texas. Continue reading
Category Archives: General
Reliable Water Resources vs. Environmental Concerns: A Court Battle over the Santa Ana Sucker
A safe and reliable water supply is of the utmost importance to any growing community. In Southern California, a continued water supply is critically important because the region relies on imported water to support the population. However, the need to provide a reliable water supply is at odds with the need to protect critical habitat for the Santa Ana sucker, an endangered fish that calls the rivers and streams of Southern California home. In late July, a group of Southern California water districts filed arguments to overturn a 2012 court ruling that the districts believe will hurt their ability to provide customers with an adequate water supply. Continue reading
NM Supreme Court Upholds Domestic Well Statute AND Priority System
On July 25th, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued its decision in Bounds v. State of New Mexico affirming an Appellate Court decision holding that New Mexico’s Domestic Well Statute does not violate either the state’s doctrine of prior appropriation in the New Mexico Constitution or the guarantees of due process of law. With the plaintiff unable to show any impairment from the issuance of domestic well permits, the Court was reluctant to cast aside the Domestic Well Statute on the grounds of theoretical injury. Continue reading
Senate Hearing on Bureau’s Colorado River Basin Study: Seeking a Common Factual Understanding
The Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing yesterday on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study. Seven witnesses extolled the virtues of the follow up to the Bureau’s study released last year. The “elephants in the room” were recreational/environmental demands, agricultural water use, Indian water rights and supply augmentation. Continue reading