WSPC05416

• File Number: 8064
• Description: Indian Water Rights
• State: CO
• Date: 5/1/1984
• Author: Western Governors As
• Title: Indian Water Rights in the West
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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INTRODUCTION

The following is an investigative study undertaken at
the request of the Western Governors' Policy Office*dealing
with the subject of Indian water rights in the Western
United States, It has been compiled by the staff of the

Western States Water Council and does not necessarily repre-

sent the individual views of Council members or the collective

view of the Council as a whole.

The study does not purport to be an exhaustive report
on the general topic of Indian water rights. Its specific
focus is the potential quantity of such rights and the issues
related immediately thereto,

The aim of the study is description as opposed to

persuasion or advocacy. Because of the generally uncertain

nature of the subject matter, few definitive conclusions are

reached. Nothing in the study should be taken as a statement

of what any tribe's water rights "ought" to be, nor as an

endorsement of any formula for quantification or method of
settling Indian water right claims.

The study begins with a look at the availability of

water in the West and the legal system used to create and

administer rights co that water, It then discusses Indian
water right issues, focusing specifically on the potential

*The Western Governors' Policy Office is a predecessor organization
of the Western Governors' Association.