Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West

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G;aI�abo ado Cooperative Approaches To Resolving- Conflict Significant water supply crises must be addressed in advance of the crisis. Collaborative processes that are based on recognition of the rights and interests of the stakeholders allow the problem solving that maximizes the opportunity for innovation and creativity. 6 One of the most important aspects of intelligent water management in the West is to have a system that allocates available water supplies in a rational manner when there is not enough to meet all demands for water. Congress has decided that, except in limited circumstances, states should have the authority to allocate water within their boundaries. Congress has also required that federal needs for water must respect prior rights to water created under state law, and that both federal and nonfederal needs for water ;Y rj ;( A T _ ��. r _ 19 r p _ }V M w must be integrated into a single priority system in states that follow the doctrine of "prior appropriation." The integration of claims to water typically occurs in court proceedings. These proceedings or "adjudications" can be complex and take decades to complete. The problem is that until these - xl