The Dividing the Waters Program of the National Judicial College has served western judges overseeing complex water litigation since 1993, providing information and training resources on water law and water conflicts to state, tribal, and federal judges. Western water laws can be very complex, especially for those who are encountering those laws for the first time. It is in the interest of the executive branch water agencies of the western states to ensure that the judicial officers who adjudicate water cases in their states have an understanding of the fundamentals of western water law and the latest information on water adjudication. Dividing the Waters provides a critical link between the executive branch water agencies and the judicial branch that adjudicates water conflicts in the western states.
Dividing the Waters started as a confidential discussion forum for the judges adjudicating the large “general stream adjudications” of water rights. The “Conveners,” judges with experience in water adjudication, led the program and invited other judges to join. As water litigation evolved, so did Dividing the Waters. Today, it addresses the most critical water issues facing judges today, including climate change, water quality, endangered species, and growing cities. In the wake of extreme droughts, state courts started seeing more water cases, and some states created their own programs for water judges. They worked with Dividing the Waters to help their judges learn how best to adjudicate complex water conflicts, which may have thousands of parties and the public interest at the center of the dispute. Dividing the Waters has begun creating on-demand courses related to water to facilitate learning the fundamentals of water law quickly. The first online course, on water science, is now available to judges in state courts that have joined Dividing the Waters.
Dividing the Waters helps both state and federal judges share information; discuss problems; learn what works and what doesn’t; benefit from technical and scientific expertise; and build a water knowledge network among judges, water masters, and referees. In order to encourage open discussion and debate among judges, Dividing the Waters maintains the confidentiality of such discussions, consistent with the Canons of Judicial Ethics.
Judges and non-judges alike are welcome to subscribe to the Dividing the Waters Network, which includes access to the monthly Network Note, a newsletter that covers recent water-related cases, introduces judges who are new to the network, and provides information about upcoming webinars and conferences. (See Past Issues.)
Over the years, Dividing the Waters has also published various bench books and other publications, primarily by judges for judges (occasionally with outside review from water agencies or other experts), including:
- Adjudicating Groundwater: A Judge’s Guide to Understanding Groundwater Modeling
- Hydrological Modeling Bench Book
- Water and Growing Cities: A Survey of Western State Water Requirements for Urban Development
- Mitigating the Exercise of Water Rights and Water Use: A White Paper on Questions Judges May Consider
- Water Science in the Courtroom