Climate Change & Water Law

Introduction

Climate change continues to have detrimental effects on the environment, especially water resources. The Intermountain West faces record-breaking droughts and increased water scarcity. Water law in the Intermountain West was not developed to confront the unstable environment that climate change creates. This article addresses the ways in which western water law in the Intermountain West may inevitably adapt to climate change.

Development of Western Water Law and the Law of Prior Appropriation

The legal doctrine governing water law varies in the United States of America, depending broadly on whether a state is located to the east or to the west of the 100th meridian (Craig, 2020 at 3-4, see References). The western United States, inclusive of the Intermountain West, is predominantly governed by the law of prior appropriation, whereas the Eastern states are generally governed by the riparian doctrine. Id. at 3. Under the riparian doctrine, water