Book contents
- Riverflow
- Riverflow
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Maps
- Foreword: Marching Away from Folly
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Publicum Ius Aquae
- 1 Instream Rights and the Public Trust
- 2 Instream Rights and Unreasonable Use
- 3 Instream Rights and Dams
- 4 Instream Rights and Watershed Governance
- 5 Instream Rights as Federal Law Recedes
- 6 Instream Rights as Water Temperatures Rise
- 7 Instream Rights as Sea Levels Rise
- 8 Instream Rights and Groundwater Extraction
- 9 Instream Rights and Old Canals
- 10 Instream Rights and Water as an Investment
- 11 Instream Rights and International Law
- 12 Instream Rights and Irrigation Subsidies
- 13 Instream Rights and Pacific Salmon
- 14 Instream Rights and Hatchery Fish
- 15 Instream Rights as Indigenous Rights
- Conclusion Policy Disconnected from Science
- About the Author
- Index
4 - Instream Rights and Watershed Governance
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 February 2021
- Riverflow
- Riverflow
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Maps
- Foreword: Marching Away from Folly
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Publicum Ius Aquae
- 1 Instream Rights and the Public Trust
- 2 Instream Rights and Unreasonable Use
- 3 Instream Rights and Dams
- 4 Instream Rights and Watershed Governance
- 5 Instream Rights as Federal Law Recedes
- 6 Instream Rights as Water Temperatures Rise
- 7 Instream Rights as Sea Levels Rise
- 8 Instream Rights and Groundwater Extraction
- 9 Instream Rights and Old Canals
- 10 Instream Rights and Water as an Investment
- 11 Instream Rights and International Law
- 12 Instream Rights and Irrigation Subsidies
- 13 Instream Rights and Pacific Salmon
- 14 Instream Rights and Hatchery Fish
- 15 Instream Rights as Indigenous Rights
- Conclusion Policy Disconnected from Science
- About the Author
- Index
Summary
In many river basins around the world, the instream flows in the mainstem rivers are often determined by the contribution of water to these mainstem rivers from tributaries. Notwithstanding the somewhat obvious hydrologic reality that the contribution of water from tributaries helps determine the instream flow of mainstem rivers, the law often treats mainstem rivers as if they were hydrologically distinct from tributaries. That is to say, legal rights of diversion of water on mainstem rivers are often determined without taking into proper account how diversion of water on upstream tributaries impacts the volume of water in mainstem rivers.
Perhaps the most glaring example of this disconnect between hydrology and the law is the case of the multistate legal regime (often referred to as the “Law of the River”) to allocate the Colorado River in the United States. Pursuant to the Law of the River, California was granted the right to divert 4.4 million acre-feet (MAF) of water from the Colorado River, while Arizona was granted the right to divert 2.8 MAF of water from the Colorado River.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- RiverflowThe Right to Keep Water Instream, pp. 66 - 80Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021