Formally-adopted positions of the Western States Water Council
Position #466 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, groundwater is a critically important natural resource that is vital to the economy and environment of the arid West; WHEREAS, the Desert Land Act of 1877 and the United States Supreme Court in California Oregon Power Co. v....
Position #465 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, access to reliable, clean drinking water is an essential human need that is critical to the public health, well-being, educational attainment, and economic development of all communities in the United States; and WHEREAS, lack of...
Position #464 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, climate variability has serious potential consequences for water supply availability, water resources planning and management, water rights administration, flood management, and water quality management; and WHEREAS, much of the...
Position #463 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, the West enjoys diverse and abundant energy resources, including renewable and non-renewable resources, but water is scarce in much of the region and may or may not be sufficient for all proposed uses; and WHEREAS, power plant...
Position #462 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, maintaining and delivering sufficient water supplies of suitable quality is key to the West’s economic prosperity, environmental needs, and our quality of life, both now and in the future; and WHEREAS, appropriate water-related...
Position #461 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, Western States experience great variability in precipitation, with serious impacts and consequences for water supply planning and management, drought and flood preparedness and response, water rights and water market...
Position #460 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, Western States experience great variability in precipitation, with serious impacts and consequences for the operation of water projects, particularly aging water infrastructure, as well as water supply and emergency planning and...
Position #459 - March 25, 2021 WHEREAS, National Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) standards for extreme rainfall have long been used for the design and regulation of infrastructure including dams, roads and bridges, as well as thermal power facilities; and are used...
Position #458 – October 15, 2020 WHEREAS, the western states use general stream adjudications to determine and document relative water rights within basins, including rights to waters claimed by the United States under either state or federal law; and WHEREAS, general...
Position #457 - October 15, 2020 WHEREAS, the Dividing the Waters Program of the National Judicial College has served western judges overseeing complex water litigation for more than 20 years, providing information and training resources on water law and water conflicts...