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The article explores the history of water law in the U.S. Topics discussed include doctrine of English common law natural flow riparianism, the South Carolina's Act 247 of 2010 and the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Ill. Cent. R.R. Co. v. Illinois in which the Illinois legislature granted the submerged lands fronting Chicago's commercial waterfront to the railroad company.

This essay compares the system of property rights that are in use for land, water, minerals, and spectrum. Each of these systems of property rights is intended to coordinate the activities of large numbers of individuals who are unable to contract among themselves for an arrangement that secures optimal resource use. The solutions that are appropriate vary heavily with the nature of the resource involved, so that the paradigm of exclusive use associated with land fits imperfectly with both mineral rights and the spectrum, but does work well with water rights, which vary immensely with the environment in which they are found. The allocation of rights in question are important not only for resolving private disputes, but should in principle set the ground rules which govern the rules for determining when the government owes compensation for its actions that take or regulate the use of the various forms of private rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses equitable apportionment legal cases in the U.S. Supreme Court in the wake of the court's ruling in the case Florida v. Georgia which deals with riparian rights, conservation measures, and prior appropriation principles. Other topics include original jurisdiction, a fair allocation legal principle, and case law regarding water law systems in America. A harm-benefit comparison is mentioned, along with state laws and an American riparian doctrine.

The article discusses the author's claim that Certificates of Possessory Title (CPTs) are a sensible addition to Minnesota's Torrens (registered property land records) system as of 2013. Water and riparian rights in Minnesota are mentioned, along with complex land title recording and registration issues. Minnesota legislation and real estate title-related abstract systems are examined, as well as Minnesota Statutes and the state's Legislature.

The article reviews court cases related to several topics including unemployment compensation, establishment of riparian rights, and waste treatment, published in 2013. Discussed court cases include Chrysler Group LLC v. Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Brenon v. First Advantage Corp., and Moorhead Electric Co. v. Payne. It concludes that the array of matters affecting the life of Hoosiers also incorporates the works of administrative agencies.

Adoption of a hybrid approach to water rights (the California doctrine) in some western states of the United States (U.S.) and Australia creates some doubt as to what factors drive water rights evolution. To date, commentators have argued climate is the only variable that affects this progression. However, climate alone cannot explain why the hybrid approach, persisted in nine of seventeen arid U.S. states and two Australian colonies. This paper shows that in addition to climate, the type of asset investment in water intensive sectors impacts water evolution via the mobility constraint. This study presents a predictive framework combining climate and asset type to determine the net effects on water scarcity and determine when and where riparian and/or appropriative water rights will evolve. In this article empirical evidence from several countries is used to verify the predictive capabilities of the framework. The findings indicated that the combination of variables included in the framework could better explain water rights evolution than climate alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article explores intricacies and issues of having navigable waterways in the heart of a booming oil and gas extraction industry. This Article explains the potential legal impact riparian doctrines, which are typically associated with the surface estate ownership, can have on mineral estate ownership interests, and the contractual relationships involved in mineral extraction. This Article identifies issues occurring when the riparian doctrines' surface estate-focused policies, are applied to mineral estate leasing practices and the need for different considerations in mineral estate transactions. The first section contains a discussion of Brigham Oil v. North Dakota Board of University and School Lands, a case sent back to the North Dakota Supreme Court for final disposition. There is also coverage of the effects of the public trust doctrine on the authority of the State to grant away mineral estate interests in a navigable shore zone; the original balancing interests held by the state and upland riparian land owner to the shore zone; and the impact that N.D.C.C. § 47-01-15 and the impact of North Dakota Supreme Court's interpretation of said statute in Sprynczynatyk v. Mills, had in modifying the original balance of interests in the shore zone. When writing this Article the case was still under review by the North Dakota Supreme Court and therefore in an attempt to avoid coming to a solid conclusion on the outcome of Brigham Oil, this Article instead focuses on the different areas of law that arise in the determination of the ownership interest in the navigable shore zone mineral estate. However, it is important to note that since this Article went to editing and publication the North Dakota Supreme Court in Reep v. State, determined that the shore zone royalty interest belongs to the state. In the second half of this Article, an analysis of the use of drafting provisions in mineral leasing agreements and communitization/unitization agreements can fix boundaries of mineral estates to avoid the legal consequences of riparian doctrines. Considering the riparian doctrines at the time of initial leasing or communitization may avoid the legal impacts and uncertainties of the riparian doctrines. This Article also examines theremedial approaches of the courts in apportioning ownership interests of accreted riparian surface estates and an argument for applying an alternative apportionment approach to the correlating mineral estate. This Article uses primarily North Dakota and Montana case law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004 ended nearly four decades of water disputes between the Gila River Indian Community and the state of Arizona. This paper explores the historical background of the Gila River Indian Community and its claim to water rights, the evolution of tribal water rights laws that culminated in the historic settlement, and the consequences of the act on water resource management in the region. It also links the findings from this case to the broader field of indigenous water rights studies from other regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the concerns related to groundwater law for allocation of groundwater in Arizona. It addresses five theories for allocating groundwater including appropriative rights, regulated riparianism, and absolute ownership. The correlative rights and reasonable use rule both require a sharing of the groundwater resources among them who have legitimate claims and the rule of capture indicates that water user has no property in the groundwater until the water is pumped from a well.

The Ganges, the lifeline of India, has a devastating impact on the rural people of Malda, a small district of West Bengal, India. The riparian history of Ganges reminded the rulings of British and other rulers. Different places of Malda got due importance for this river. But it has a lot of contribution to ruin the district by regular floods and land erosions. The study has tried to capture the riparian history and flood history and its impacts on the socio economic life. 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the establishment of the doctrine of prior appropriation in Idaho. It mentions that the establishment refers to the allocation of water rights from a water source that is markedly different from riparian water rights. It also informs that a water right has created to divert and appropriate the inappropriate waters of any natural stream for beneficial uses shall never be despite the plea of the riparian interest.

The article discusses the lack of stability of water rights in Oklahoma. It notes that a dual rights system has resulted from the Riparian Rights Doctrine. It states that hydraulic connections between groundwater and stream water have not been sufficiently recognized. It mentions that unsustainable mining of water from major groundwater sources has been mandated.

The article focuses on the prior appropriation (PA) doctrine and its application in water allocation disputes occurring in the American West. Topics include the adoption of PA water codes in the Western U.S., the doctrine of beneficial use, and the limitations of water rights. Information is provided on water management laws.

The article discusses the water system in South Florida which serves as a model as it highlights the city's water appropriation system and its unique environmental resources and history of development. The city's adoption to the Florida Water Resources Act (FWRA) of 1972, which builds a modified riparian reasonable-beneficial use system is discussed. The continued development of conservation and alternative water supply approaches to provide a solution for both short and long term is stated.

China is a thirsty country desperately in need of water—a lot of it. In order to meet its water and energy requirements in the densely populated and fertile northern plains, it is successively making interventions in the Tibetan rivers in the southern part through dams and diversions. While China is well within its riparian rights to do so, a set of externalities involving the principles of water-sharing and lower riparian needs—stretching from Afghanistan to Vietnam—raise concerns. Politically controlling Tibet and thereby having control over the mighty rivers that originate there allows Beijing to overcome its uneven water distribution but also importantly gives its leaders strategic width and diplomatic clout for dealing with its neighbours. Based on the theoretical framework of power and hydro-hegemony this article examines how China's hydro-behaviour on the Brahmaputra (Yarlung Ysangpo) could impact power relations with India and what India's counter-hydro-hegemony strategy should be. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Since 85 per cent of African freshwater comes from international rivers, the realization of the newly emerging human right to water depends on the volume and quality of shared water resources. Each continental African State shares a river with at least one other State. Thus, a State has the capacity to hamper the realization of the right in other co-riparian States by reducing the volume or polluting the shared river unless they arc legally prevented from jeopardizing the right abroad. The right would prove an empty promise for the right holders unless they are given legal avenues to hold third States accountable for their (in)actions that produce extraterritorial consequences. This article examines the extraterritorial reach of States' human rights duties in the African human rights system in the light of the regional case law and comparative jurisprudence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the evolution of riparianism and water rights in the U.S. It depicts different approaches to property rights relating to the use of water and its riparian rights. It informs of several riparian rights like traditional riparian rights and appropriative rights. It finds that water is allocated and reallocated by a collective decision-making process on the basis regulated riparianism by the state agency.

The article examines legal issues surrounding fracking regulation in water laws of Louisiana with a focus on riparian rights. Topics include the regulatory aspects of Act 955 in water legislation in Louisiana, the constitutional laws about hydraulic fracturing, and the doctrine relating to riparian rights in water legislation. It is suggested that Act 955 should define riparian rights in the the state's laws.

The article presents information on the decision of the United States Supreme Court on a case in context with the property law of Florida. It states that the decision of the riparian and littoral rights law against the beach renourishment program of the state was placed to determine the compensable takings of the property rights. Information on the decision's impact on the rights of landowners and on the public rights to access the beaches of Florida is also presented.

This paper situates the politics of canoeing on inland rivers in England and Wales in the context of property rights and protest repertoires. We argue that the dominance of property rights has created an asymmetrical position that has underpinned riparian rights holders' claims to exclusive use of rivers while simultaneously delegitimizing the apparently equally valid claims of paddlers and others seeking access along rivers. Utilizing a netnographic approach we interrogate the adopted cultural positions of canoeists as 'roving bandit' and 'social pirate' through a study of online discussion. By adopting identities as 'bandit' and 'pirate', paddlers seek to unsettle the hegemony over property relations exercised by anglers to win concessions for use and enjoyment of rivers. Informed by Mancur Olson's theory of property settlement by outlaws, we argue that these identities do more to substantiate the claims of anglers to possession than further the cause of paddlers to securing greater access. In order to substantiate their claims, paddlers need to shift the point of their attack from that characterized by the roving and ephemeral bandit to that of the settled ruler, in the process establishing a claim over inland waters that is as strong as that already imposed by the anglers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the water law reform as a response to the global climate disruption in the U.S. It states that water allocation law is primarily a matter of state law in the country and it can either hinder or facilitate the adaptation of communities to global climate disruption. It cites the three models of water law including appropriative rights, riparian rights and regulated riparianism. However, the three models do not guarantee that communities will strike the perfect balance between the private need and public interest. Meanwhile, the regulated riparianism appears to be best suited to cope with the big challenges that the country will face for the coming century, despite the fact that it is not a perfect system.

The demise of the former Soviet Union (FSU) led to disintegration of watersheds resulting in water disputes particularly between water-surplus and water-deficit subregions, followed by arbitrations, treaties and some water-sharing agreements. Higher water mismanagement mainly by semi-desert steppy lower riparians, their fast growing water needs for dense population and huge thirsty irrigable land and the 'locational benefits', they claim for hydrocarbon resources, on one side, and the mountainous republics becoming conscious about the water resources - all is heading towards a complicated situation. Moreover, the three water-deficit republics have recorded the lowest irrigation efficiencies, much below the world average. Such unhealthy trends are mostly responsible for creating an environmental catastrophe in Greater Central Asia in which Aral Sea presents the worst scene. This dynamics has made irrigation management crucial and detrimental for the sustained crop production. In order to minimize the water loss from source to field, a critical issue in irrigation management, the respective governments, some international organizations, and NGOs have started to improve irrigation efficiency through the application of irrigation technology and the related measures. These initiatives have been successfully rewarded. However, the states being highly interdependent and single planning unit, their sustenance and development jointly lies in managing the resources, significantly water, which requires high degree of regional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the late former Chief Justice William S. Richardson of the Hawaii State Supreme Court, and his application of Hawaiian culture and history to his legal opinions. Various cases are provided as examples, including In re Kelley, concerning public access to limited coastal property, In re Ashford, dealing with public coastline boundaries, and McBryde Sugar Co. v. Robinson, about riparian rights.

Many belligerents in ethno-territorial conflicts claim they have an absolute right to contested space, operate on a zero-sum basis, and use maximalist negotiation strategies. This article draws on ongoing fieldwork that examines ethno-territorial conflict and focuses on the transition from rights-based to needs-based negotiations over sites of worship, parading routes, and national borders. These three sites represent different scales and expressions of spatial conflict, including accommodations for Jewish and Muslim worshipers in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron/al-Khalil, West Bank, the terms and conditions agreed to for sectarian parading in the town of Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and the return and subsequent lease of land on the Israeli-Jordanian border. In each case, negotiated arrangements allow for the belligerents to meet their minimal territorial needs, even as the broader dynamics of the conflict persist. Central to these arrangements is a shared recognition that space is a mutable resource and that needs-based negotiation can allow sharing of contested territory at a variety of scales. The article draws from analogous dynamics in international river treaty negotiations, specifically the riparian model developed by the authors in earlier work. We conclude by enumerating the contributions geographers can make to theories of conflict and peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new kind of danger is looming over the six countries that share the Mekong watershed: not about ideology or territory, but about water - who controls it, how it should be used, and for whose benefit. China's economic development and geopolitical objectives pose the most important, but by no means the only, threat to human security and regional stability. To varying degrees countries in the region are also pursuing short-sighted, environmentally unsustainable development policies, sometimes in conjunction with Chinese ambitions for regional economic integration. To avoid the perils of peace in the Mekong basin, the larger powers in the region, inter-governmental organisations, aid donors and the United States all have critical roles. In particular, cooperative and equitable involvement by China and Thailand is critical, and is an area where Washington may have considerable leverage. Non-governmental organisations, development banks and international agencies should be encouraged to pursue new methods and tools to apprise leaders in Yunnan and Beijing (and, to a lesser extent, Bangkok) of the very real risk of policy blowback from their plans for the Mekong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water governance has emerged as one of the intense and most urgent challenges of the new century, largely due to the threatened nature of water availability and the transboundary character of water challenges. These conditions pose exceptionally high risks for societies that need to address these challenges. Using the concept of risk society as developed by Ulrich Beck, this article illustrates how shared risk among Central Asian countries provides the impetus for developing water governance mechanisms. However, the historical and sociocultural circumstances of these countries pose limits to their ability to craft workable governance arrangements; in particular, the Soviet legacy of centralised command-and-control governance over water and related ethnic tensions among countries. These tensions play out in the demarcation of water boundaries and the subsequent allocation of water resources among the riparian countries. However, these limitations can also be viewed through the lens of 'reflexive governance', which allows for flexibility, hybridisation, uncertainty and even ignorance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alabama is a water rich state. Yet, agriculture is limited in both scale and productivity and the state regularly suffers from drought. Climate variability adds to this paradox even while water users, particularly farmers, have few coping mechanisms. In this paper, we argue that more significant than the water resource itself in Alabama is the governance structure of that resource. The riparian doctrine, as it stands, stymies effective management. The role of water doctrines, and resultant policy, is, therefore, crucial to enhancing decision-making opportunities for agricultural end-users in Alabama. After exploring different doctrine types as applied across the states we conclude that a move towards “regulated riparianism” consistent with the American Society of Civil Engineers Regulated Riparian Water Code (2004) would enhance opportunities for both the state and agriculturalists to cope with variable water supply conditions while maximizing environmental benefits. The paper then concludes with a review of the primary objectives of the Water Code and key places where Alabama’s Water Code would need revision to meet these objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines problems related to the management of the Júcar River watershed in the region of Valencia, Spain. In particular, it looks at issues within the Unidad Sindical de Usuarios del Júcar, an association of irrigators, and issues related to the co-management of water resources by this association and government authorities. It explains that these issues include the protection of historic rights to the waters of the river, access to reliable information on the amount of stored water, and protection of agricultural land from urban encroachment. The article discusses these issues in the context of sustainable water resource management principles and requirements.

American Indian tribes own substantial quantities of water, but often encounter obstacles to winning legal and public recognition of their water rights. Antiquated nineteenth century water regimes completely cut reservations out of water allocations throughout the arid western states, leaving many Indian lands unproductive, even as public funds built massive federal irrigation projects to provide low-cost water for other farmers. Since the 1960s, protracted and acrimonious litigation has forced some changes in the status quo. Today, weary participants in the water wars are increasingly accepting the reality of tribal water rights and negotiating settlements of water claims. This paper presents case studies illustrating tribal efforts to secure water rights. It briefly explains United States water law and identifies the legal basis of the Indian reserved water right. The paper concludes with research guidance and an annotated bibliography of selected printed and electronic sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies basic elements to be considered in formulating a general water law. It presents these elements using a four-part general framework: the hydrologic cycle, human uses, physical and ecological functions, and institutional arrangements. It applies this framework to the Republic of Colombia's water law, based on which recommendations for possible revisions are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on some of the customs which pertains to the ancient water rights in Hawaii. Accordingly, the holders of a water right during the ancient times were being required to go up with the luna wai or superintendent into the waterhead or dam to examine its condition and maintain the water source from all obstructions. Traditions has it that during the days of the Great Kamehameha, the great chief or the mauka would promptly order the enforcement of the customary penalty to those chiefs who presumed to trample on the customs honored by usage pertaining to agriculture, fishing or any form of labor.

This paper aims to shed some light on the meaning and implications of the notion of water as a human right. The transformations of how water was viewed and acknowledged in the 20th century are addressed in light of globalization and the emergence of the concept of water as a social good with an economic value. The relevance of 'water as a human right' to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be discussed. Water governance and its implications on human rights are discussed to demonstrate the necessity for strengthening water governance models and set-ups to ensure the appropriate implementation of water as a human right. Conclusions and recommendations are outlined with an emphasis on the value of seeing the synergies in the three-global visions which are water for people, food and nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation services and improving water resources management are central to the basic right of every human being. Egypt has set an ambitious water agenda in response to the many challenges facing the country and the people. It has successfully met the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) water targets by developing and implementing a national integrated water resources management plan during the post 2017-period. Egypt has also taken several measures to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets for drinking water and sanitation. It has successfully proceeded in supplying nearly the whole population with access to drinking water, whereas sanitation coverage heavily favours urban areas and only a small fraction of rural areas. This paper aims to shed some light on the efforts exerted by the government of Egypt for equitable and sustainable management of its water resources that benefit both individuals and the society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores local rights and accountability in local water resource management. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies have an important role and responsibility to create an environment in which people can assume accountability and have a greater chance to get their rights to water fulfilled. A framework of research questions is proposed within a Right-based Approaches (RBA) framework. Answers to these questions could contribute to the policy responses necessary to ensure that rights of the underprivileged groups in particular in local communities are fulfilled and that they can assume their own share of accountability for the good use of available water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines what it means for Lebanon to adopt a human rights approach to water. Experts agree that there is a crisis in the water sector, with the poor suffering disproportionately in terms of access to, availability and quality of water. The paper details the gap between Lebanon's political acceptance of water as a human right, and its implementation. It suggests that the civil war, Israeli occupation and mismanagement reduced Lebanon's capacity to ensure an adequate water and sanitation services to its citizens. A lack of political will due to clientalist and sectarian considerations in public policy, ineffective public participation and tension over transboundary water resources have further intensified this problem and has led to the continued dominance of traditional security considerations in water policy. The paper asserts that the main goals set by the current reform process of the water sector address important capacity issues, such as efficiency gains and cost recovery, but do not signal a political shift towards a human rights-based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though hundreds of millions of people do not have access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation, these issues only entered the global political agenda around the mid-1970s. The period 1981-90 was declared as the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, with the objective that everyone would have access to clean water and sanitation by its end. The Decade did not meet its objective. The issue was then chosen as a Millennium Development Goal, with the objective that by 2015 the number of people not having access to clean water can be reduced by half. By 2002, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations reinterpreted Articles 11 and 12 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and concluded that water is a human right under this agreement. Several governments have opposed the concept that new rights can be derived by reinterpreting existing treaties. The paper analyses the developments leading to the recommendation that water is a human right, and then assesses the implications of this new development and its implementation potential in the developing world, especially for the Middle East and North African region. It identifies seven priority areas where research is now needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the long history and the multiple interpretations of water rights in the Middle East and North Africa, it is difficult to say anything new without being provocative. The danger is that, in the effort to be provocative, it is easy to become frivolous. Fortunately, it is not possible to deal with any aspect of water, and certainly not human rights to water, without at least passing attention to hydrology and geography, and to economics and political science. Although none of these disciplines gives exact answers, taken together they do impose boundaries to any commentary. Even so, the comments below are tentative. They should be taken in the context of a 'think piece', designed to stimulate thinking rather than to provide final answers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology for quantifying the effectiveness of water-trading under uncertainty, by developing an optimization model based on the interval-parameter two-stage stochastic program (TSP) technique. In the study, the effectiveness of a water-trading program is measured by the water volume that can be released through trading from a statistical point of view. The methodology can also deal with recourse water allocation problems generated by randomness in water availability and, at the same time, tackle uncertainties expressed as intervals in the trading system. The developed methodology was tested with a hypothetical water-trading program in an agricultural system in the Swift Current Creek watershed, Canada. Study results indicate that the methodology can effectively measure the effectiveness of a trading program through estimating the water volume being released through trading in a long-term view. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to analyze the effects of different trading costs on the trading program. It shows that the trading efforts would become ineffective when the trading costs are too high. The case study also demonstrates that the trading program is more effective in a dry season when total water availability is in shortage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Three methods for modeling allocation of water rights under different types of water rights systems are presented. The priority-based maximal multiperiod network flow (PMMNF) programming method searches for optimal allocations over the whole river basin and multiple periods, strictly preserving priority order by sequential programming. PMMNF is a flexible method that can be applied under prior, riparian and public water regimes with priorities determined by different criteria. The modified riparian water rights allocation (MRWRA) approach for water allocation under a riparian rights system is a special form of PMMNF, which assigns senior priorities to the basic water demands of all riparian landowners and junior priorities to their surplus demands. MRWRA recognizes that, an upstream riparian has the privilege to take water but should constrain its diversions for surplus demands to meet the basic needs of downstream riparian demands. The lexicographic minimax water shortage ratios method is a technique for water allocation under a public water rights regime adopting the lexicographic minimax fairness concept, which interprets fairness as minimizing weighted water shortage ratios of all water uses and the differences among them. The weights can be set based on the “equivalent weighted water shortage ratios” rule. The proposed methods may also be applied to international basins as long as water demands and associated priorities or weights are selected to reflect relevant international water allocation principles and agreements. These approaches and their algorithms are evaluated using an illustrative application to the Amu Darya River Basin located within the Aral Sea Basin of Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the case studies of various countries within the Nile River Basin. It reports that the riparian states in the Nile River have been involved in several bilateral and multilateral diplomatic initiatives to settle the dispute over the river, particularly since the 1980s. Relative to this, it also notes that Egypt has declared that the country is prepare to go war to defend its national interest over the river. The article also covers the national interest of the East African Community (EAC) and other foreign policy interests of other riparian countries in the Nile River.

The frequency of water conflicts in riparian areas has increased in recent years, forcing water agencies to consider regulating water withdrawals from streams. In this paper, we evaluate permitting programs that would be part of such regulations. The research focuses on fixed- and fractional-flow-based permit systems, the former of which allows a constant volume of withdrawal similar to the practice in appropriative areas; the latter of which allows water abstractions proportional to streamflow. The evaluation is undertaken with respect to three performance criteria: Low flow frequency, users’ net benefit, and withdrawal interruption frequency. It is concluded that the fixed-flow-based permit program is able to provide a high net benefit but causes frequent minimum streamflow violations and withdrawal interruption due to its relatively simple withdrawal formula. The fractional-flow-based permit program is found to achieve a better tradeoff in preserving the natural flow regime, the net economic benefit, and convenience to water users and administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mid-1990s Australia embarked on a program of reforms including the introduction of private property rights in water, the allocation of water for the environment, and increased public participation where new initiatives are proposed. Many of the water allocation and management practices adopted in the country have originated from states in the Murray-Darling Basin. This article considers the different approaches taken in NSW, Queensland, and Victoria. In each of these states, public participation has been an evolving process, giving rise to difficulties of a slightly different nature. The article outlines the policy and theory behind public participation and sets out the legal provisions for its inclusion in water planning. It explores the main issues in the implementation of the legislation. The Australian experience suggests that policy makers and legislators did not initially draw upon the extensive research that was in existence on effective public participation. However, changes were made to make the processes more inclusive. Capacity building of participants, independent scientific support, and access to data were some of the most critical factors in effective public participation. Because the public had the opportunity to participate and influence decision making in water allocation, some potential legal conflict was avoided. Of the states examined, Queensland had the best legislative template for public participation although improvements could be made in many areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the Nebraska Supreme Court's decision to the case "Spear T. Ranch v. Knaub," concerning the state's managed rights to ground water and surface water. Review of traditional riparianism governing surface water rights, prior appropriation governing surface water rights and correlative rights doctrine governing ground water rights; Rights to use surface water attached to all riparian parcels of land patented in the state prior to April 4, 1895; Issue of monetary damages.