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LAW, HYDROLOGY, AND SURFACE‐WATER SUPPLY IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN 1
Author(s) -
Jacoby Gordon C.,
Weatherford Gary D.,
Wegner Judith W.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1976.tb00214.x
Subject(s) - resource (disambiguation) , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage basin , water resources , water resource management , surface water , structural basin , environmental science , acre , geology , geography , computer science , environmental engineering , geomorphology , agroforestry , computer network , ecology , geotechnical engineering , cartography , biology
Law and hydrology are inextricably woven together in the pattern of water resource development in the west. The former attempts to allocate a limited and valuable resource as the latter tries to define the limits of the resource. In the past an inadequate data base has made hydrologic estimates difficult and political factors have pushed the law into possibly conflicting commitments in the Colorado River Basin. Through the use of tree‐ring research, hydrologists have produced a more definitive data base and placed water allocations such as the Colorado River Compact of 1922 in a clearer long‐term perspective. This data base leads to the conclusion that the surface‐water supply is about 13.5 million acre‐feet per year. This hydrologic limit must be apportioned within an existing legal framework ‐ the “Law of the River.” As development approaches the resource limit in the Upper Colorado River Basin, lawyers and hydrologists must act in concert toward the equitable solution of allocation and reallocation problems.