Adapting to water scarcity: A comparative analysis of water harvesting regulation in the four corner states

Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation

Volumn 27, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 539-570

  Cummings, Katherine ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OREGON   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMPARATIVE STUDY; ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; HARVESTING; RAINWATER; REGULATORY APPROACH; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; WATER ECONOMICS; WATER POLLUTION; WATER USE;

ARIZONA; COLORADO; UNITED STATES; UTAH;

EID: 84877914533     PISSN: 10490280     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (126)

1. U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID CLIMATES 3 (2010) [hereinafter GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE], available at http://www.azwater.gov/AzDWR/waterManagement/documents/10504- 08AridCliniatesCaseStudy-v2.pdf.
2. These tanks can be made out of plastic, metal, concrete, or wood, which differ in cost, maintenance, and size. TEX. WATER DEV. BD., THE TEXAS MANUAL ON RAINWATER HARVESTING 16 (3d ed. 2005), available at http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/ publications/reports/rainwaterharvestingmanual-3rdedition.pdf.
3. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, supra note 1, at 3.
4. Improperly maintained or constructed rainwater catchment devices can pose a threat to human health because standing water can lead to breeding of mosquitoes and other insects, and toxins can accumulate in the water. PATRICIA S. H. MACOMBER, COLL. OF TROPICAL AGRIC. & HUMAN RES., UNIV. OF HAW. AT MĀNOA, GUIDELINES ON RAINWATER CATCHMENT SYSTEMS FOR HAWAII 22(2010), available at http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/rm-12.pdf;
5. DAVID A. CUNLIFFE, GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF RAINWATER TANKS 22(1998), available at http://www.ircsa.org/factsheets/Cunliffe.pdf.
6. 2O. COM, http://www.harvesth2o.com/passive-active.shtml (last visited Oct. 14, 2012).
7. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, supra note 1, at 2.
8. For each square foot of catchment area, such as a roof, one inch of rainfall will result in. 6 gallons of water. AM. RAINWATER CATCHMENT SYS. ASS'N, RAINWATER HARVESTING: THE FORGOTTEN RESOURCE (2010), available at http://www.arcsa.org/files/ARCSA-v1rev2-lowres.pdf.
9. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, supra note l, at 3.
10. DEP'T. OF ENV'T & CONSERVATION NSW, MANAGING URBAN STORMWATER: HARVESTING AND REUSE 2-3 (Apr. 2006) [hereinafter MANAGING URBAN STORMWATER], available at http://www.environment.nsw.gov. au/resources/stormwater/ managestormwatera06137.pdf.
11. The so-called "first in time, first in right" system. JOSEPH L. SAX ET AL., LEGAL CONTROL OF WATER RESOURCES 126 n. 5 (Thomson/West, 4th ed. 2006).
12. The average annual amount of precipitation in the Four Comers area is about 13.5 inches. Climate Maps of the United States, U. S. DEP'T OF THE INTERIOR, http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/climatemap. html#list (last visited Oct. 14, 2012) (calculated by taking the average of the annual rainfall totals in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah as reported by the U. S. Geological Survey). By creating a structured system that clearly delineated rights, prior appropriation allowed for investment and creation of waterdispensing systems that allowed agriculture and cities to grow beyond the banks of a river.
13. Interstate water agreements take on many different forms and contain a variety of different provisions. See UTTON TRANSBOUNDARY RES. CTR., UNIV. OF N. M. SCH. OF LAW, UTTON CENTER MODEL COMPACTS PROJECT: COMPACT REVIEW SUMMARIES (2005), available at http://uttoncenter.unm.edu/pdfs/MC-Review-Summary.pdf.
14. Water Quality: Stormwater, WA. STATE DEPT. OF ECOLOGY, http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/index.html (last visited Oct. 24, 2012).
15. The Problem of Urban Stormwater Pollution, NATURAL RES. DEF. COUNCIL (Nov. 11, 2000), http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/fstorni.asp.
16. Water Quality: Stormwater, supra note 29.
17. 33 U. S. C. § 1342 (a) (2011).
18. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY (Mar. 12, 2009), http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes [hereinafter NPDES]
19. This system can be administered by individual states, so long as a state submits a program to regulate discharges that is approved by the Administrator of the EPA. 33 U. S. C. § 1342 (b). New Mexico is the only state within the Four Comers region that does not have an approved state program, meaning its NPDES program is administered by the EPA with help from state agencies.
20. Civil Enforcement: Clean Water Act Action Plan, U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY (May 1, 2012), http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/civil/cwa/cwaenfplan. html.
21. NPDES, supra note 33.
22. The NPDES stormwater permits apply when a city uses Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), as opposed to cities that use Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) systems. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): Combined Sewer Overflows: CSO Control Policy, U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY (Sept. 12, 2002), http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cso/cpolicy.cfm?program-id=5. MS4s have separate systems to deal with municipal sewer discharges and stormwater discharges, whereas CSOs have antiquated sewer systems that also take on stormwater runoff. Id. The regulation of CSOs is outside of the scope of this article, but it should be noted that it is different than the NPDES program discussed here.
23. U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MUNICIPAL STORMWATER PROGRAMS 1 (Jan. 2008), available at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/ lawsguidance/cwa/tmdl/upload/region3-factsheet-swmp.pdf.
24. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): Stormwater Basic Information, U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY (Mar. 20, 2012), http://cfpub.epa.gov/ npdes/stormwater/swbasicinfo.cfm.
25. EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MUNICIPAL STORMWATER PROGRAMS, supra note 36.
26. Water: Green Infrastructure, U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY (July 19, 2012), http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/index.cfm.
27. U. S. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDIES: MUNICIPAL POLICIES FOR MANAGING STORMWATER WITH GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE 3 (Aug. 2010), available at http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/lid/gi-case-studies-2010.pdf;
28. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, supra note 1, at 3.
29. NPDES, supra note 33.
30. Kirk Johnson, It 's Now Legal to Catch a Raindrop in Colorado, N. Y. TIMES, June 29, 2009, at A1, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/us/ 29rain. html.
31. COLO. CONST. art. XVI, § 5.
32. COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. § 37-82-101 (West 2011).
33. Peterson v. Reed, 369 P.2d 981, 983 (Colo. 1962) (holding that waters tributary to a creek belonged to senior appropriators on the creek).
34. COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. § 36-20-103. This statutory language became law through the passage of the Weather Modification Act of 1972. § 36-20-101. In Colorado, weather modification takes two forms; (1) ground-based wintertime cloud seeding, and (2) hail cannons.
35. COLO. DEP'T OF REGULATORY AGENCIES, OFFICE OF POLICY, RESEARCH & REGULATORY REFORM, 2010 SUNSET REVIEW: WEATHER MODIFICATION ACT OF 1972, at 5 (Oct. 15, 2010), available at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol= urldata&blobheademamel=Content-Disposition&blobheademame2= Content-Type&blobheadervalue1= inline%3B+filename%3D%22Weather+Modification+Act+of+1972+-+2010+Sunset+Review. pdf%22&blobheadervalue2=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable= MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1251815550673&ssbinary=true. Both of these processes are used to increase rain or snowfall. Id. This statute is important because it is explicitly relied upon by the Colorado Division of Water Resources as reasoning for the limits on rainwater harvesting in the state.
36. COLO. DIV. OF WATER RES., RAINWATER COLLECTION IN COLORADO, available at http://water.state.co.us/DWRlPub/Documents/DWR-RainwaterFlyer.pdf.
37. LEONARD RICE ENGINEERS, INC. ET AL., HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT IN NORTHWEST DOUGLAS COUNTY 1 (Jan. 2007) [hereinafter WATER MANAGEMENT STUDY], available at http://www.tribesandclimatechange.org/docs/ tribes-244.pdf (noting that this amount of return to the stream system only occurs in a wet year, while in a dry year there is no return of any rainwater to the stream system).
38. COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. § 37-96-102 (1) (c).
39. R. J. A., Inc. v. Water Users Ass'n of Dist. No. 6, 690 P.2d 823, 828 (Colo. 1984).
40. H. R. 09-1129, 67th Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2009), available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2009a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/ 7EBElFD8BEB4A0088725753C0061EF02?open&file=1129-enr.pdf
41. (codified at COLO. REV. STAT. § 37-60-115 (6) (2012)).
42. S. 09-080, 67th Gen. Assemb., 1st Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2009), available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2009a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/ 49D4349AC4A73794872575370071F5D4?0pen&file=080-enr.pdf
43. (codified at COLO. REV. STAT. § 37-90-105 (f) (2009)).
44. The permitting system merely requires current holders of certain well permits to fill out a form identifying their name, address, the location of the previously permitted well, and a description of the collection system. COLO. DIV. OF WATER RES., INSTRUCTIONS FOR ROOFTOP PRECIPITATION COLLECTION SYSTEM PERMIT APPLICATION (Nov. 2011), available at http://water.state.co.us/DWRIPub/ Documents/gws-78.pdf.
45. Nicholas Riccardi, Who Owns Colorado's Rainwater?, L. A. TIMES, Mar. 18, 2009, http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/18/nation/na-contested-rainwater18.
46. COLO. DEP'T OF PUB. HEALTH AND ENV'T, COLORADO'S STORMWATER PROGRAM FACT SHEET app. B (Feb. 2008), available at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite? blobcol=urldata&blobheademamel=Content-Disposition&blobheademame2= Content-Type&blobheadervaluel=inline%3B+filename%3D%22FAQ. pdf%22&blobheadervalue2=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable= MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1251819971706&ssbinary=true.
47. DENVER, COLO., REV. MUN. CODE, ch. 56, art. III, div. 4, § 56-108 (a) (2012).
48. John Hollenhorst, Catching Rain Water is Against the Law, KSL. COM (Aug. 12, 2008, 11:49 PM), http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4001252. The dealership building currently utilizes rainwater for washing cars and received a Gold LEED rating, in part because of the rainwater catchment system.
49. Steven Oberbeck, Utah Buildings Deemed Eco-Friendly, Energy-Efficient, SALT LAKETRIB. (July 13, 2009), http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci-12829634.
50. "The [Utah] Division of Water Rights is the state agency that regulates the appropriation... of water in the state of Utah." Water Right Information, UTAH DIV. OF WATER RIGHTS (July 19, 2011), http://www.waterrights. utah.gov/wrinfo/default.asp. A basic requirement for appropriating water in Utah is that the "appropriation may be only made for a useful and beneficial purpose."
51. UTAH CODE ANN. §73-3-1 (4) (West 2010).
52. Rasmussen v. Moroni Irrigation Co., 189 P. 572, 577 (Utah 1920).
53. UTAH CODE ANN. § 73-1-1 (1).
54. McNaughton v. Eaton, 242 P.2d 570, 573 (Utah 1952).
55. WATER RIGHT INFORMATION, supra note 70.
56. Wrathall v. Johnson, 40 P.2d 755, 766 (Utah 1935) (emphasis added). This doctrine is still in effect today, and these words are still used to determine whether interference with water rights has occurred.
57. See Wayment v. Howard, 144 P.3d 1147, 1150 (Utah 2006)
58. (citing Adams v. Portage Irrigation, Reservoir & Power Co., 72 P.2d 648, 653 (Utah 1937)
59. (quoting Wrathall, 40 P.2d at 766)).
60. WATER MANAGEMENT STUDY, supra note 48.
61. Big Cottonwood Tanner Ditch Co. v. Shurtliff, 164 P. 856, 862 (Utah 1916).
62. Weber Basin Water Conservancy Dist. v. Gailey, 328 P.2d 175, 179 (Utah 1958).
63. S. 32, 2010 Leg., Gen. Sess. (Utah 2010), available at http://le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/sbillint/sb0032.htm (emphasis added).
64. Frequently Asked Questions, UTAH DIV. OF WATER RIGHTS, http://www.waterrights.utah.gov/wrinfo/faq.asp (last visited Oct. 24, 2012) [hereinafter FAQs).
65. UTAH CODE ANN. § 73-3-1.5 (West 2011).
66. See FAQs, supra note 84.
67. H. R. 67, 2012 Leg., Gen. Sess. (Utah 2012), available at http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillint/hb0067.pdf.
68. Stormwater Capture Amendments: Hearing on H. B. 67 Before the H. Pub. Utils. & Tech. Standing Comm., 2012 Leg., Gen. Sess. (Utah 2012) [hereinafter Hearing on H. B. 67] (statement of Rep. Fred C. Cox), available at http://utahlegislature.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view-id=35&clip-id=332.
69. "The state engineer shall be responsible for the general administrative supervision of the waters of the state and the measurement, appropriation, apportionment, and distribution of those waters." UTAH CODE ANN. § 73-2-1 (3) (a) (West 2010). Additionally, "[t]he state engineer may make rules... governing... the determination of water rights."
70. See TUCSON, AZ., CODE ch. 6, art. viii (2010) (requiring rainwater harvesting in development plans for commercial, non-residential sites);
71. Rainwater Harvesting, CITY OF TUCSON, http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/water/ harvesting (last visited Sept. 15, 2012) [hereinafter Rainwater Harvesting].
72. Rainwater Harvesting, supra note 102.
73. TUCSON, ARIZ., CODE ch. 23, LAND USE CODE § 3.7.1.1 (A) (1995), available at http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/sites/default/files/planning/codes/luc/ Complete%20LUC.pdf.
74. CITY OF TUCSON, DEP'T OF TRANSP., STORMWATER MGMT. SECTION, WATER HARVESTING GUIDANCE MANUAL 4-13 (Oct. 2005) [hereinafter GUIDANCE MANUAL], available at http://dot.tucsonaz.gov/stormwater/downloads/2006WaterHarvesting. pdf.
75. TUCSON, AZ., CODE ch. 6, art. via, § 6-182 (A).
76. See GUIDANCE MANUAL, supra note 105.
77. BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON WATER SUSTAINABILITY, FINAL REPORT 10 (Nov. 30, 2010), available at http://www.azwater.gov/AzDWR/waterManagement/documents/BRP- Final-Report-12-1-10.pdf (noting that Flagstaff and Oro Valley are among those cities considering rainwater harvesting ordinances).
78. TUCSON, ARIZ., ORDINANCE NO. 10597(2008), available at http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/files/water/docs/rainwaterord.pdf (stating that "water conservation constitutes a legitimate and critical public health, safety, welfare, economic, and sanitation concern", and that "Tucson Water estimates that 45% of all water usage in its service area is dedicated to outdoor purposes").
79. Gray Water and Rainwater Harvesting for Residents, ARIZ. DEPT. OF WATER RES. (Oct. 28, 2011), http://www.azwater.gov/azdwr/StatewidePlanning/ Conservation2/Residential/Graywater-Rainwater-Harvesting.htm.
80. Water Conservation Systems, ARIZ. DEPT. OF REVENUE, http://www.azdor.gov/ TaxCredits/WaterConservationSystems.aspx (last visited Sept. 15, 2012);
81. ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 43-1090.01 (A) (2011).
82. ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 43-1090.01 (B).
83. BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON WATER SUSTAINABILITY, SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS § 1-25 (Oct. 22, 2010), available at http://www.azwater. gov/AzDWR/waterManagement/documents/BRPSummaryofProposedRecommendations10-25- 2010.pdf.
84. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 45-801.01 to 857.01. Aquifer replenishment refers to the process by which water on the surface of the ground slowly seeps back into water aquifers deep underground, which have been created over thousands, if not millions, of years.
85. See Matthew Nier, Groundwater Replenishment Methods (Spring 2004), http://academic.evergreen. edu/g/grossmaz/NIERMM.
86. S. 1522, 50th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2011), available at http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/501eg/1r/bills/sb1522p.pdf.
87. SENATE RESEARCH, FACT SHEET FOR S. B. 1522(2011), http://www.azleg.gov// FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/1r/summary/s.1522wlurd.doc. htm&Session-ID=102.
88. See Joanna Dodder Nellans, New Rainwater-Harvesting Bill Could be the Answer to the Prescott Area's Water Problems, DAILY COURIER, Mar. 5, 2011, http://prescottdailycourier.com/main. asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID= 1&ArticleID=91358.
89. Ariz. S. 1522.
90. COMM. ON AGRIC. & WATER, SB 1522 (Mar. 23, 2011), available at http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/501eg/1r/summary/h. sb1522-03-23-11-aw.doc.htm&Session-ID=102. This would essentially create a new type of water that individuals would need a right to use.
91. Apparently because Representative Jerry Weiers, the Chair of the Committee, does not like study committees. Joanna Dodder Nellans, Fireworks, Rainwater Harvesting Bills Don't Make It Into Law, PRESCOTT VALLEY TRIB. (May 4, 2011, 10:44 AM), http://pvtrib.com/Main. asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID= 1&ArticleID=54053.
92. H. R. 2363, 50th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2012), available at http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/501eg/2r/laws/0095. htm&Session-ID=107.
93. Hearing on S. B. 1522 Before the Committee on Agriculture and Water, 50th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2011) [hereinafter Hearing on S. B. 1522] (statement of Rep. Peggy Judd, Member, H. Comm, on Agri. & Water), available at http://azleg.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view-id=13&clip-id=8967.
94. Prescott AMA Water Supply Mass Balance, Macro-Rainwater Harvesting and Evaporation Interception, Civiltec Eng'g Inc., http://www.civiltec.com/ downloads/MacroRainwater.ppt (last visited Oct. 24, 2012) (finding that in Prescott, Arizona, 98.4% of rainwater was lost to evapotranspiration).
95. Hearing on S. B. 1522, supra note 127 (statement of Sen. Pierce);
96. S. 1522, 50th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2011), available at http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/501eg/1r/bills/sb1522p.pdf.
97. Hearing on S. B. 1522, supra note 127 (statements of Sen. Pierce and Supervisor Springer). "Groundwater mining" is defined as "[t]he process... of extracting groundwater from a source at a rate in excess of the replenishment rate such that the groundwater level declines persistently, threatening exhaustion of the supply...."
98. Groundwater Glossary, CAL. DEP'T OF WATER RES. (July 30, 2009), http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/groundwater-glossary.cfm#gg.
99. CITY OF PRESCOTT, ARIZONA, Vision 2050 Water Committee (last visited Oct. 24, 2012), http://www.cityofprescott.net/-d/gpvision2050water.pdf.
100. Hearing on S. B. 1522, supra note 127 (statement of Sen. Pierce).
101. N. M. STAT. ANN. § 72-1-1 (West 2011).
102. "The unappropriated water of every natural stream... is hereby declared to belong to the public and to be subject to appropriation for beneficial use.... Priority of appropriation shall give the better right." N. M. CONST. art. XVI, § 2.
103. COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. § 36-20-103 (West 2011);
104. Weather Control Act, N. M. STAT. ANN. § 75-3-1 to 15.
105. N. M. STAT. ANN. § 75-3-3.
106. NATE DOWNEY, N. M. OFFICE OF THE STATE ENG'R ROOF-RELIANT LANDSCAPING: RAINWATER HARVESTING WITH CISTERN SYSTEMS IN NEW MEXICO (2009), available at http://www.ose.state.nm.us/water-info/conservation/pdf-manuals/ Roof-Reliant-Landscaping/Roof-Reliant-Landscaping.pdf.
107. Rainwater/Snowmelt Harvesting Policy, N. M. OFFICE OF THE STATE ENG'R (Nov. 24, 2004), http://www.ose.state.nm.us/wucp-policy.html. This standard is open to wide interpretation but has not been subject to any type of judicial review, so it is unclear exactly how a person would violate this guideline.
108. Rainwater Harvesting Rebate, CITY OF SANTA FE, N. M., http://www.santafenm.gov/index.aspx?NID=2558 (last visited Oct. 24, 2012).
109. SANTA FE, N. M., CITY CODE § 14-8.4 (B) (2011).
110. See Watering Restrictions, ALBUQUERQUE BERNALILLO CNTY. WATER UTIL. AUTH. (October 12, 2012), http://www.abcwua.org/content/view/234/433;
111. Rebates Indoor, ALBUQUERQUE BERNALILLO CNTY. WATER UTIL. AUTH. (Sept. 10, 2010), http://www.abcwua.org/content/view/134/229.
112. 100 Billion Gallons Saved Through Conservation, CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, http://www.cabq.gov/council/news/100-billion-galions-saved-through-conservation (last visited Oct. 14, 2012) (noting that "per-person usage [in the city] is approximately 165 gallons, compared with 252 gallons in 1994", while aquifer pumping has decreased from "40 bilKon gallons annually in 1994 to 31 billion gallons today-in spite of population growth") (emphasis omitted).
113. Saving Water Outdoors, ALBUQUERQUE BERNALILLO CNTY. WATER UTIL. AUTH. (Mar. 27, 2008), http://www.abcwua.org/content/view/70/60 (listing a variety of ways to reduce outdoor water use and dependence on the city water supply).
114. SANTA FE, N. M., CITY CODE § 14-8.2 (A).
115. Current estimates by the U. S. Census Bureau project a population of at least 67 million people in the Southwest by 2030 and a potential for the current population of 50 million to double within 50-100 years. Lauren Morello, Scientists See the Southwest as First Major U. S. Climate Change Victim, N. Y. TIMES, Dec. 14, 2010, available at http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/12/14/ 14climatewire-scientists-see-the-southwest-as-first-major-78170.html (noting that analysts recommend that part of the solution to increased population growth will be "encouraging the development of untraditional water sources).
116. D. P. Lettenmaier et al., Water Resources, in THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AGRICULTURE, LAND RESOURCES, WATER RESOURCES, AND BIODIVERSITY 121, 129 (Margaret Walsh ed., 2008), available at http://www.sap43.ucar.edu/ documents/Water.pdf.
117. Paul Hirt et al., The Mirage in the Valley of the Sun, 13 ENVTL. HIST. 482, 487 (2008).
118. Sandra L. Postel, Entering an Era of Water Scarcity: The Challenges Ahead, 10 ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 941, 942 (2000).
119. CHARLES FISHMAN, THE BIG THIRST 253 (2011).
120. David Hambling, Weatherwatch: Australia's 'Big Drought' Officially Over After a Decade, THE GUARDIAN, May 11, 2012, http://www.guardian. co.uk/news/2012/may/ll/weatherwatch-drought-australia-floods. While the "Big Dry" may be over, Australian scientists "expect droughts to become more severe and more frequent."
121. Andy Coghlan, Australia's decade-long drought ends, NEWSCIENTIST, May 1, 2012, http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21765-australias-decadelong-drought- ends.html.
122. Rebates on Water-Efficient Products for All Victorians, STATE GOV'T OF VICTORIA, AUSTL. (June 29, 2011), http://www.water.vic.gov. au/resources/news- items/news-items-folder/rebates-on-water-efficient-products-for-all-victorians.
123. See generally MANAGING URBAN STORMWATER, supra note 15.
124. Ronnie B. Levin et al., U. S. Drinking Water Challenges in the Twenty-First Century, 110 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 43, 43 (2002) (reporting that the EPA and other studies estimate that public water utilities will need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to maintain and improve existing water infrastructure).
125. U. S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM, REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN THE UNITED STATES: SOUTHWEST (2009), available at http://www.globalchange.gov/images/cir/region-pdfySouthwestFactSheet.pdf (predicting that water scarcity in the area will lead to increasing competition and potential conflict among current users over water resources).
126. It is important to note, however, that a prior appropriation right system of some sort may have to be established in Colorado in order for a program like this to work. The Colorado Supreme Court has made a point to note that it "express[ed] no opinion on the constitutional permissibility of any legislative scheme permitting rights to be acquired in tributary water... on some basis other than of priority of appropriation. " R. J. A., Inc. v. Water Users Ass'n of Dist. No. 6, 690 P.2d 823, 829 n. 9 (Colo. 1984). It is possible that because prior appropriation is included in the state's constitution, any water use program would need to incorporate prior appropriation.