Water has allowed California to grow in places where there is little natural water. Water has also been the source of a great deal of legislation and litigation. There are two fundamental laws that govern most water rights in the United States, and California came up with its own law.
Common-law riparian rights are the most universal doctrine in the United States. The riparian doctrine gives certain rights in the flow of water to the owner of land next to or overlying the water flow. The water user must own land bordering the water flow and the water user must limit use to those purposes deemed to be either natural or reasonable (Miller & Hyslop 2000, p. 112).
The Doctrine of Prior Appropriation is also known as the Colorado Doctrine. The riparian doctrine left something to be desired in the arid West, where few rivers flowed. Prior appropriation permitted the first person to appropriate (take and use) water from a stream to continue using that amount of water against all subsequent (later-coming) users, as long as that original use was continuous. This could be called the “first-come, first-served” doctrine (Miller & Hyslop 2000, p. 112).
The California Doctrine was created by the state of California to govern fair water use. This doctrine recognized water rights already acquired under the prior appropriation process. It also recognized established riparian rights. Water would be subject to specific state control and regulation to be used for the public interest. A state water rights board would oversee any excess water over that used by the prior appropriation and riparian rights uses. This compromise was not easily reached, but it protected established water rights as well as provided for domestic and irrigation use. |
