Abstract
Water is a necessity of life. The ownership of this precious resource has always been an important property right, particularly in the West. Individual ownership rights are administered under either the riparian doctrine or the doctrine of prior appropriation. However, these doctrines are inappropriate for regulating waterways between sovereign states. Consequently, new legal theories have developed to allocate both intrastate and interstate waterways. Most notably, the doctrine of equitable apportionment has developed as part of the federal common law. This doctrine weighs a variety of factors to achieve an equitable allocation of interstate water between states.
Recommended Citation
Eccles, C. Hope
(1986)
"Equitable Apportionment: The Supreme CourtParts the Waters,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1986:
No.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1986/iss2/7