Conflicts Over The Use Of Water: Examples From The

American West

By

Bradley T. Cullen

University of New Mexico

Frontier Worldview

Settlers saw a hostile environment to be conquered and cleared as quickly as possible;

Settlers believed there would always be more!!!

Beginnings of the Federal Role in Resource Conservation (1870-1916)

*1872 – Yellowstone National Park 1891 – Forest Reserve Act 1892 – Sierra Club founded 1901-1909 – Theodore Roosevelt President 1905 – U.S. Forest Service established 1912 – U.S. National Park Service created

Gifford Pinchot

“The first great fact about conservation is that it stands for development. There has been a fundamental misconception that conservation means nothing but the husbanding of resources for future generations. There could be no more serious mistake…The first principle of conservation is the use of the natural resources now existing on this continent for the benefit of the people who live here now.”

John Muir Everybody needs beauty as well as

bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

One may as well dam for water tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.

Water Problems

Not enough Not in the right place Too much

Los Angeles Aqueduct

Federal Water Projects

Carry-over storage reservoirs

Water Law

Perpetual right to use water by capturing it and putting it to beneficial use

Colorado River Aqueduct

Shasta Dam

Central Valley Project

Oroville Dam

California Water Project

Central Valley Agriculture 1911

Central Valley Agriculture Today

Southern California

Las Vegas

Phoenix

Silvery Minnow’s Decline

Water impoundment for agriculture Decreased and interrupted stream flow Canalization of the river

Enforcement of ESA

1994 – Listed as endangered 1999 – Designation of critical habitat

(FWS) 1999 – Declared arbitrary and capricious 2001 – Issuance of Biological Opinion 2002 – Rio Grande Silvery Minnow vs. Key 2003 – Appeals Court upholds decision

Judge Parker’s Ruling

“If the Court allows the Rio Grande to dry this year (2002) as proposed by the FWS and BOR, the federal agencies will have violated the ESA, and the Court will have failed in its Congressionally-mandated duty to afford injunctive relief to prevent further harm to the species.”

Dissenting Opinion

The ESA, “like Frankenstein, despite the good intentions of its creator, has become a monster.”

Water Restrictions

Spring & Summer Watering Restrictions– No sprinkler usage between 11:00

am and 7:00 pm

State Water Law

Prior appropriation– ‘first in time, first in right’

Water Banking System

Water rights can be sold Few mechanisms for selling surplus water

Land-Use Policy and Water Law

Public utility law– Duty to service all customers in its service area– Service priced at the average rather than the

margin

Restrictions on water use