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The prior appropriation doctrine developed in the Western United States from Spanish (and later Mexican) civil law and differs from the riparian water rights that apply in the rest of the United States. The appropriation doctrine originated in Gold-Rush–era California, when miners sought to acquire water for mining operations.
Colorado, where the prior appropriation doctrine first developed, was generally looked to as the model by other Western states that adopted the prior appropriation doctrine. Water law in the western United States is defined by state constitutions (e.g., Colorado, New Mexico), statutes, and case law. Each state exhibits variations upon the basic ...
In the Southwestern United States, water scarcity was (and remains) a critical problem. The McCarran Amendment, 43 U.S.C. § 666, was a statute enacted by United States Congress in 1952 [2] allowing the United States to be joined as a defendant in certain suits concerning the adjudication or administration of rights to use of waters.
The United States recognizes two types of water rights. Although use and overlap varies over time and by state, the western arid states that were once under Mexico and Spain generally follow the doctrine of prior appropriation, also known as "first-come, first-served", but water rights for the eastern states follow riparian law.
The state of Wyoming brought an action against the state of Colorado to prevent the diversion of a stream system. Wyoming claimed the doctrine of prior appropriation granted them superior rights to the stream water, as they claimed the water first, and that Colorado's proposed diversion would leave them with an insufficient supply of water.
Where water is more scarce (like in the Western United States), allocation of flowing water is premised upon prior appropriation. "The appropriation doctrine confers upon one who actually diverts and uses water the right to continue to do so provided that the water is used for reasonable and beneficial uses", regardless of whether that person ...
Many of the western states, including California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming use a system of allocating water rights known as the prior appropriation doctrine, which is derived from Spanish civil law. [28] Each state has modified the doctrine to suit its own internal conditions and needs. [29]
The court determined that the Secretary of the Interior was not bound by Prior-appropriation water rights in allocating water among the states, within the 1964 decree. [1] 292 U.S. 341 (1934): Arizona argued that the Colorado River Compact was unconstitutional. 298 U.S. 558 (1936): Arizona requested that the Supreme Court: