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CHAPrER THREE The Allocation of Water Between Consumptive and Environmental Uses Introduction For many years competition between consumptive and instream uses of water did not exist. It was partly because people thought there was enough water for all purposes, and partly because society generally was not sensitive to specific environmental needs for water, nor to the continuing decline in fish and wildlife resources. The primary issue was whether new water supplies could be devel- oped at reasonable costs and in a timely way to meet burgeoning water demands. This changed dramatically with the emergence of the environmental movement in the late 1960s. In the last two decades, a number of different mechanisms have been used to effect a reallocation of water between consump- tive and environmental uses: (1) the public trust doctrine; (2) Article X, Section 2, of the California Constitution; (3) Sections 5937 and 5946 of the California Fish and Game Code; (4) legislation for wild and scenic rivers, and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act; (5) application of the Endangered Species Act; and (6) the National Environmental Policy Act (NEP A) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This chapter will focus on the public trust doctrine, Article X, Section 2, and Fish and Game Code Sections 5937 and 5946. The public trust doctrine is of ancient origin and has been brought into modern law through court decisions. Article X, Section 2, was adopted as an amendment to the California Constitution in 1928 and provides that the water resources of the state must be put to reasonable and Recently, a number of court decisions and state and federal laws have been used to reallocate water between consumptive and environmental uses. NEPA = National Environmental Policy Act CEQA = California Environmental Quality Act 71