An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought
Entrenched Western water rights regimes may appear to function relatively well in wet years, but extreme drought events can expose the kinds of harsh ecological and socio-economic outcomes that the hard edges of prior appropriation inherently generate. During the 2012–2016 California drought some ir...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Resources |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/1/12 |
| _version_ | 1828357715874807808 |
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| author | Zachary P. Sugg |
| author_facet | Zachary P. Sugg |
| author_sort | Zachary P. Sugg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Entrenched Western water rights regimes may appear to function relatively well in wet years, but extreme drought events can expose the kinds of harsh ecological and socio-economic outcomes that the hard edges of prior appropriation inherently generate. During the 2012–2016 California drought some irrigators received little or no water at all in consecutive years while others received comparatively large allocations. This paper focuses on the role that California’s water rights priority system and its administration via Central Valley Project contracts have played in generating disproportionate water allocations and impacts during the drought. The analysis is structured around two key questions: (a) in what ways does strict adherence to a priority system of water allocations produce inequitable socio-ecological outcomes during severe drought? (b) how might the system be changed to foster outcomes that are more equitable and fair, and with less costly and less serious conflicts in a non-stationary climate future marked by extreme events? Using an equity perspective, I draw from the doctrine of equitable apportionment to imagine a water rights regime that is better able to create a fairer distribution of drought impacts while meaningfully elevating the importance of future generations and increasing adaptive capacity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:20:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5cd9579f51a64ba7892aa4f958c0d267 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9276 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:20:01Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Resources |
| spelling | doaj.art-5cd9579f51a64ba7892aa4f958c0d2672022-12-22T02:15:21ZengMDPI AGResources2079-92762018-02-01711210.3390/resources7010012resources7010012An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California DroughtZachary P. Sugg0Martin Daniel Gould Center for Conflict Resolution, Stanford Law School, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USAEntrenched Western water rights regimes may appear to function relatively well in wet years, but extreme drought events can expose the kinds of harsh ecological and socio-economic outcomes that the hard edges of prior appropriation inherently generate. During the 2012–2016 California drought some irrigators received little or no water at all in consecutive years while others received comparatively large allocations. This paper focuses on the role that California’s water rights priority system and its administration via Central Valley Project contracts have played in generating disproportionate water allocations and impacts during the drought. The analysis is structured around two key questions: (a) in what ways does strict adherence to a priority system of water allocations produce inequitable socio-ecological outcomes during severe drought? (b) how might the system be changed to foster outcomes that are more equitable and fair, and with less costly and less serious conflicts in a non-stationary climate future marked by extreme events? Using an equity perspective, I draw from the doctrine of equitable apportionment to imagine a water rights regime that is better able to create a fairer distribution of drought impacts while meaningfully elevating the importance of future generations and increasing adaptive capacity.http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/1/12water lawCaliforniadroughtequityCentral Valley Projectwater rightsprior appropriation |
| spellingShingle | Zachary P. Sugg An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought Resources water law California drought equity Central Valley Project water rights prior appropriation |
| title | An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought |
| title_full | An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought |
| title_fullStr | An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought |
| title_short | An Equity Autopsy: Exploring the Role of Water Rights in Water Allocations and Impacts for the Central Valley Project during the 2012–2016 California Drought |
| title_sort | equity autopsy exploring the role of water rights in water allocations and impacts for the central valley project during the 2012 2016 california drought |
| topic | water law California drought equity Central Valley Project water rights prior appropriation |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/1/12 |
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