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<br />. . <br /> <br />0240 One substantial exception fran federal deference to state water <br />laws came with the Supreme Court's developrrent of the reservation <br />doctrine. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The real teginning of the doctrine came in the case of Winters v. <br />United States 15/ in which the Supreme Court held that when Congress <br />created an Indian reservation, an unspecified quantity of water, without <br />which the land wDuld l::.€ valueless, had l::.€en impliedly set aside for the <br />Indian's use and that this reserved right was superior to the rights of <br />subsequent appropriators who had obtained water rights wrler the appli- <br />cable state la,,'s, even though the Irrlians had not made a diversion for <br />beneficial use. <br /> <br />The Winters Doctrine, as it became known and accepted, was uni- <br />versally thought of as a special rule of Indian law 16/, for there were <br />special circt.nT\Stances in the case of an Indian reservation that justified <br />,an inl:>lication of intent to reserve water for the Indians that did not <br />exist in the context of other federal establishments. Ho.vever, in the <br />lardmark case of Arizona v. California 17/ in 1963, the Court agreed <br />with the Master's conclusion that the principle underlying the reservation <br />of water rights for Indians applies equally to other federal establishments. <br />As a result, the Court upheld reserved rights not only for Indian reservations, <br />but for national forests, national recreation areas, and wildlife <br />refuges. 18/ <br /> <br />The effect of reservation doctrine, with respect to appropriations <br />under state lal., has been described as follows: <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />"An appropriator, canplying with state law <br />cannot obtain title to it and his right applies <br />only to surplus vTclter, if any, remaining after the <br />federal right is satisfied. The reserved water <br />so withheld, is the property of the United States, <br />and the governrrent exercising its proprietary powers <br />and rights can put it to use without C011pliance with <br />state law. The block of water that will ultimately <br />l::.€ needed on the reserved ,lands may l::.€ used in the <br />neantime ~ an appropriator vlho canplies with the state <br />laws, but if that water is later put to use by the <br />goverrurent, it takes no property fran the terrp:>rary <br />user and owes him no canpensation." 19/ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Thus, the doctrine poses the threat that new federal uses will be <br />given turn-of-the-century priorities that can take water fran =ently <br />valuable uses established pursuant to state law without paying any <br />compensation. 20/ The concern with which the western states view this <br />threat is obvious ~ the fact that as the result of federal reservations <br />and withdrawals fran those lands open to public settlerrent, as of June <br />30, 1963, approximately 40% of the total acreage within those states <br />(with the exception of North and South Dakota) included in the Desert <br />Lard Act is under the responsibility of federal agencies: a total of <br />over 360 million acres in the eleven contiguous western states. 21/ <br />Approximately 61% of the total surface water runoff is derived fran <br />federally reserved lanis. 22/ It should be thus apparent that the <br />uncertainties generated ~t:he doctrine with respect to state-granted <br />water rights have adversely affected water resources planning and <br />developrrent. As the tlational Water CCltIInission concluded in its report <br />of 1973: <br /> <br />-3- <br />90. <br />