WSPC02585

• File Number: 8064
• Description: Indian Water Rights
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 3/17/1997
• Author: Todd M Olinger
• Title: Summary of Indian Water 1997
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

I
I
I
I
I
I

(1944

Session I: Western Water Trends and Directions

demand for flowing water plus the demand to move more water to urban
uses create an enormous tension: The urbanized westerner wants water for
lawns and hot tubs, but also for fishi~g and river rafting.

Attitudes are changing in the West as welL No longer is the "typical"
western attitude one of wanting to exploit all resources for their most
utilitarian potentiaL There is a growing appreciation of ecological realities,
The idea of the interconnectedness of all things is no longer strange, and
even four-dollar words like "sustain ability" and "ecosystem" are part of
regular conversation in the West,

I
I
I
I

Once, a conference on Indian water rights could be spent exploring the
history, nuances, and latest developments in the Winters doctrine. We still
care about those things, but as the agenda for this forum indicates, our focus
is on the future, on "trends and directions," There is a constantly changing
policy landscape that must be studied and understood. So let's look at the
trends in western water policy that I outlined and see what they mean for
the new West and, in particular, how they implicate Indian tribes,

Conservation and Efficient Water Use

I
I
I
I
I

All of western water law under the prior appropriation doctrine is premised
on the concept of beneficial use. The flip side of beneficial use is waste.
Rights to use water depend on putting it to beneficial use. Thus, there can
be no right to waste water under our system of laws.

As notions of waste and inefficiency change, so does the concept of beneficial
use. A use that qualified as "beneficial" at the turn of the century may now
seem wastefuL Tightening the standards that states use to define
waste-and denying new water rights to the extent that proposed uses do not
meet standards of efficiency-is increasingly likely. Even old water uses,
long ago established as beneficial, but no longer efficient given modern
technology, may be vulnerable. And there is an incentive for water users to
police one another to ensure that the resource is being used wisely; if senior
rights are pared down to eliminate inefficiency or waste, more water will
become available for junior users.

I
I

Once, any economic use was considered "beneficiaL" Today, states are
looking harder at uses, old and new, and asking: "Are they truly beneficial?"
"Is the use really efficient?" "Is the means of diversion reasonable and
appropriate?"

I

For tribes denied water from a stream where there are established non-
Indian uses, it may be appropriate to urge, even in state agencies and courts,
that such uses be confined to the amounts of water that would be necessary,

5