Alive but Irrelevant: The Prior Appropriation Doctrine in Today’s Western Water Law

Authors

Reed D. Benson, University of New Mexico - School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Abstract

The Prior Appropriation Doctrine has long been the foundation of laws governing water allocation and use in the American West, but it has been under pressure from forces both external and internal to the western states. Twenty years ago, Prior Appropriation was pronounced dead in a provocative essay by Charles Wilkinson. Other scholars argued that it was still alive, but it now appears to have lost its force as the controlling doctrine of western water law. This Article analyzes three recent cases upholding state laws that undermine a fundamental Prior Appropriation principle, then considers the water policy implications of the western states departure from Prior Appropriation.

Publication Title

University of Colorado Law Review

Volume

83

Issue

3

First Page

675

Recommended Citation

Reed D. Benson, Alive but Irrelevant: The Prior Appropriation Doctrine in Today’s Western Water Law, 83 University of Colorado Law Review 675 (2012).
Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facultyscholarship/334