REVISITING STATE WATER RIGHTS LAW1

ABSTRACT: Water resources professionals should be engaged actively in revisiting state water rights law. During the past four years, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers with cooperation of other water resources organizations, over a hundred engineers, hydrologists, geographers, lawyers, administrators, educators, water users, and other persons interested in water law have been preparing a Model State Water Rights Code. Preliminary drafts of the Model Code have been considered in four states, and its provisions will be disseminated nationally to state legislators and other policy makers upon formal publication in September 1994. The Model Code gathers the best provisions from state water laws into comprehensive regulated riparian and prior appropriation provisions, includes commentaries explaining how its textual sections address water resources planning and management issues, and references similar language in current state water statutes. The goal of the Code Project is to provide materials which will assist legislators so they can enact effective, efficient, and equitable water laws. In the future, the Code drafting group will expand its efforts to develop legal guidelines for allocating shared transboundary water resources, water quality law, federal water statutes, and other water resources legal issues.     

INFLUENCING WATER LEGISLATWE DEVELOPMENT WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO AVOID1

ABSTRACT: Whomever would affect water policy development must influence the water legislative process. This paper discusses in the context of the Model State Water Allocation Code the following ten ideas about doing that: (1) seek the right timing for enactment; (2) set modest goals; (3) prepare a well-drafted proposal; (4) recognize diversity by offering legislative choices; (5) consider the impacts of adoption; (6) make alliances; (7) respect executive influence; (8) become involved in legislative interaction; (9) be flexible; and (10) persist. Heeding these ideas, although not guaranteeing enactment, is sure to be educational for participants and useful to legislators.     

ALTERNATIVES FOR GROUND WATER LAW CHANGE IN ARIZONA1

ABSTRACT: Western state water resources are drawing increasing attention because of prolonged drought, pound-water overdraft and an ever-increasing awareness of insufficient Colorado River water to supply a growing population and meet industrial demand. Arizona is no exception, and the alarming decline in ground-water levels has prompted the Arizona State Legislature to adopt legislation establishing the Ground-Water Management Study Commission to recommend legislative action by 1979. This paper summarizes Arizona's ground water legislative history and discusses possible alternatives for change. The authors address specific issues facing the State and offer a set of possible Commission recommendations.     

STATE WATER CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES1

States have the potential to play a major role in moving water conservation from conferences and reports that identify its advantages to actual practice. The research identifies four generic “strategies” that categorize the states' approaches toward conservation and reports on the states' current conservation activities. The four strategies are: reliance on agricultural advisors, leverage incentives, performance standards, and mandatory actions. Four levels of state conservation activity exist. California and Florida maintain the most extensive programs; Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Oklahoma also have numerous programs but significantly lower staff commitments; eight additional states maintain more modest conservation effotts. Elsewhere, state directed conservation actions remain minimal and limited to those provided as agricultural advice. The study found support for water conservation the norm among water supply planners.     

EMERGING CONCEPTS FOR THE CONDUCT OF STATE WATER RESOURES PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: The development of water resources planning at the state level is discussed. Although there are significant specific differences among state planning programs, some common general principles of state water resources planning are emerging over time. In the interest of reconciling conflict over water allocation states are engaged in policy clarification, mediation of interst group conflict, and provision of baseline information.     

UNIVERSITY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH AND STATE LEGISLATURES1

ABSTRACT: Societal trends indicate an increased need for university water researchers to develop and improve working relationships with state legislatures to help ensure that water related legislation is based on sound water resources information. Recommendations for providing technical support to state legislatures on water resources issues include: the necessity for researchers to take the initiative; the importance of researchers capitalizing on existing linkages; the need to maintain a continuous link between key legislators, legislative staff, and researchers; and the need for researchers to provide comprehensible information in a timely manner.     

STATE FINANCING OF WATER PROJECTS: THE UTAH EXPERIENCE1

ABSTRACT: Dramatic changes in Utah's economy caused by urbanization, large scale energy developments, and other influences will significantly reorient water use patterns. Thus, state water management policies and programs which have evolved over many years should be reevaluated. Several factors have influenced Utah water project financing policy. Among these have been: 1) the prominence of agriculture in the settlement of Utah and the century following, 2) dry cycles and periodic severe droughts, 3) recurring periods of economic depression, and 4) allocation of Colorado River water among the basin states and Mexico, Three revolving funds have been established. The Revolving Construction Fund, created in 1947, provides money for irrigation projects; the Cities Water Loan Fund, created in 1975, provides money to communities for developing culinary systems and improving quality to meet the demands of exploding population growth; and the Water Resources Conservation and Development Fund, created in 1978, provides money for large scale multipurpose water projects costing $1 million or more. The justification for these financing programs seems to be a mixture of rectifying market imperfections and income redistribution. However, trends in the agricultural sector and the multipurpose nature of large scale projects now being funded suggest that earlier justifications may no longer be valid. Rigorous project evaluation procedures, lacking in the past, should be adopted.     

THE NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION REVISITED1

ABSTRACT: In 1973 the National Water Commission concluded its five-year study of national water policy by issuing a massive report containing over 200 recommendations for improvements in the way the Nation deals with its water resources. The Carter Administration is now engaged in another water policy review which incorporates many of the policies espoused by the National Water Commission. In this paper, presented at the 13th American Water Resources Conference in Tucson in November of 1977, the author describes the work of the National Water Commission and the actions taken on its recommendations.     

FORECASTING URBAN WATER USE: THE IWR-MAIN MODEL1

ABSTRACT: In the current forecasting practice, future water requirements of a growing urban area are often represented as the product of the number of people to be served by the water system and an assumed quantity of gross per capita water use. This paper describes a forecasting approach that differs from the per capita method in two important aspects. First, it disaggregates urban water use into a large number of categories, each consisting of a relatively homogeneous group of water users. Second, it links water use in each category to factors that determine both the need for water as well as the intensity of water use. This approach is incorporated into a computerized forecasting system referred to as IWR-MAIN. The advantages of the IWR.MAIN model over the traditional per capita method are illustrated in a case study of Anaheim, California.     

STATE WATER PLANNING: A FORUM FOR PROACTWELY RESOLVING WATER POLICY DISPUTES1

ABSTRACT: In the arid West, the development and implementation of water policy often results in disputes among water users, resource managers, and policy makers. Although significant attempts have been made to improve public involvement and dispute resolution in water resources planning, the traditional planning process has not historically played this role for a variety of reasons. Water resources planning can become a forum for proactively resolving water policy disputes by employing the principles of environmental dispute resolution. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of collaborative, consensus-building planning processes in resolving water policy disputes. The Montana State Water Plan is evaluated as an example of such a process, and a model state water planning process is outlined.     

Conflict Between Establishment of Instream Flows and Other Water Uses on Western Streams1

ABSTRACT: Establishment of minimum stream flows on most streams in arid areas of the west will create serious water conflicts. Much economic activity is dependent upon a limited water supply. to attempt to reallocate water to maintain minimum flows will cause severe disruption to planned uses of water and to weak segments of the economy such as irrigated agriculture.     

WATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES FOR THE NINETIES1

ABSTRACT: This paper summarizes contemporary water management issues as recognized by 19 U.S. organizations. Only the issues are identified herein. Individual organization stands are not presented. Most suggestions for action are those of the author. Addresses of all organizations whose documents were reviewed are included in the Reference section so that those desiring to learn more about an organization's stand can readily make contact.     

INTERSTATE WATER ALLOCATION COMPACTS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES - SOME SUGGESTIONS1

ABSTRACT: Agreements between states, or compacts, provide a mechanism for resolving transboundary resource issues. The twenty-two compacts allocating the water of rivers among states in the western United States are examined to provide guidance for drafters of future compacts. The method of allocation selected for a compact reflects the state's allocation of the risk of dry years. Allocations based on models have been unsuccessful. Percentage allocations are good for fairly apportioning risk, but conflict with principles of prior appropriation. Guarantees of minimum flows should be used with great care, to avoid any state becoming a guarantor of natural phenomena over which it has no control. Disputes should be anticipated, and a dispute resolution mechanism agreed upon. Arbitration or litigation are likely to prove the most politically acceptable. Compacts should be comprehensive in scope, encompassing groundwater as well as surface use. Federal claims should also be addressed, and some form of protection from subsequent changes of federal policy should be incorporated in the agreement and its ratifying legislation.     

INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO WATER MARKETING IN THE WEST1

ABSTRACT: Water marketing has been proposed as one means of reallocating water supplies in the western United States. While markets for western water currently exist and may be expected to expand, the institutional constraints within which the markets must operate will limit the ultimate size and efficiency of those markets. Lack of articulation of public interests in the water resource itself leads to incomplete definition of the private rights to use the water, and it is those private rights which are sold or leased in the market. The increase in size and efficiency of any market in water rights will be dependent on the willingness of legislatures to specifically define the nature and extent of public interests in water supplies, and detailed definition is unlikely.     

WESTERN WATER RESOURCES: THE DESERT IS BLOOMING,BUT WILL IT CONTINUE?1

ABSTRACT: The arid Southwest of the United States is confronted with increasing water demands and a limited resource. Past efforts to meet water demand have been directed toward development of scarce water resources. While development programs have been successful in stretching available supply, few feasible development options remain. Furthermore, heavy water utilization has affected water quality within drainage basins. It seems likely that water management will play a much more significant role in water resource allocation in the future. This paper will examine water development activity in the Southwest to date. Attention will be given to several of the problems that have arisen. The paper will then examine water management options. Particular attention will be given to water management options being implemented in the State of Arizona.     

MODEL STUDIES OF SALT WATER INTRUSION1

Model studies were and are still being used to verify certain theories in ground-water flow systems in general. In complex cases, the model studies may be extremely useful especially when a theoretical rigorous analysis does not exist. The models cannot be considered entirely satisfactory due to the several drawbacks in each type in addition to the normal human errors in experimentation. This paper is concerned only with the viscous flow models. However, a brief summary of the other types of models, which may possibly be used in connection with salt water intrusion problems is given. It should be noted that some of such experiments are not directly related to the field of salt water intrusion. Two main types lie within this category: The gravity flow systems which are analogous to some phases of salt intrusion problems and problems in oil fields which bear general similarities to sea water intrusion zones. In oil fields, gas cycling studies give valuable information to sea water problems. Model studies are used by hydraulic engineers, geologists, petroleum engineers, physicists, foundation engineers and several other professional groups.     

RESOLVING INTERSTATE WATER CONFLICTS IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES: THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE FEDERAL-INTERSTATE COMPACT1

ABSTRACT: As population growth occurs in regions of the eastern United States that do not have abundant water supplies, new transbasin diversions may be required. Such diversions are exceptionally politically divisive and are at the core of most of the interstate water conflicts that presently exist in the eastern states. This study examines alternative means by which these conflicts might be resolved. The strengths and weaknesses of these alternatives are examined. The study concludes that the federal-interstate compact should be the preferred alternative by which interstate water conflicts in the eastern United States are resolved.     

MODELS FOR WATER AND POWER SCHEDULING FOR THE CALIFORNIA STATE WATER PROJECT1

ABSTRACT: A large-scale simulation/optimization model provides schedules for operation of water and power for the California State Water Project (SWP). The SWP consists of a series of reservoirs linked by rivers, pumping plants, canals, tunnels, and generating plants and is operated by the California Department of Water Resources. The Department provides water to municipal and agricultural users, and manages its electrical loads and resources. The model, therefore, performs hydraulic and electrical computations leading to optimal operation of the entire system. It consists of hydraulic network programming components to meet the storage objectives at all the reservoirs, a linear programming component to determine the schedules at pumping and generating plants, an electrical network programming component to balance electrical loads and resources, and a number of other simulation components. It operates on yearly, weekly, and daily bases. It is primarily used for real-time operation of the SWP and can provide hourly detail schedules which are implemented by the SWP staff via a computerized system.     

SIMULATION OF INTEGRATED SURFACE WATER AND GROUND WATER SYSTEMS - MODEL FORMULATION1

ABSTRACT: The unique characteristics of the hydrogeologic system of south Florida (flat topography, sandy soils, high water table, and highly developed canal system) cause significant interactions between ground water and surface water systems. Interaction processes involve infiltration, evapotranspiration (ET), runoff, and exchange of flow (seepage) between streams and aquifers. These interaction processes cannot be accurately simulated by either a surface water model or a ground water model alone because surface water models generally oversimplify ground water movement and ground water models generally oversimplify surface water movement. Estimates of the many components of flow between surface water and ground water (such as recharge and ET) made by the two types of models are often inconsistent. The inconsistencies are the result of differences in the calibration components and the model structures, and can affect the confidence level of the model application. In order to improve model results, a framework for developing a model which integrates a surface water model and a ground water model is presented. Dade County, Florida, is used as an example in developing the concepts of the integrated model. The conceptual model is based on the need to evaluate water supply management options involving the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater, as well as the evaluation of the impacts of proposed wellfields. The mathematical structure of the integrated model is based on the South Florida Water Management Model (SFWMM) (MacVicar et al., 1984) and A Modular Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Groundwater Flow Model (MODFLOW) (McDonald and Harbaugh, 1988).     

ELEMENTS OF A WATER QUALITY INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THE STATE OF ILLINOIS1

ABSTRACT: A great deal of information can be derived from study of standard stream monitoring data, if these are properly ordered and organized. This information may then be used to make decisions about water quality management. Among critical information items are evaluation of performance to standards, determination of seasonality and time-trends of water quality conditions, and estimation of the effects on water quality to be expected from load reductions or standards modifications. Additional information on the magnitude of individual pollution sources is also critical to water quality management. Each of these items can be derived within the water quality information system which is currently under development for the State of Illinois.