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24 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 547 (1982-1983)
Water Rights Legislation in the East: A Program for Reform

handle is hein.journals/wmlr24 and id is 557 raw text is: WATER RIGHTS LEGISLATION IN THE EAST- A PROGRAM FOR REFORM RICHARD AUSNESS* INTRODUCTION Expanding municipal and industrial demand, along with increas- ing use of supplemental irrigation,' have escalated consumptive water use dramatically in the Eastern United States since World War II.2 This escalated use already has caused water shortages m some parts of the East, and experts predict more widespread water supply problems in the future.3 As the inadequacies of the common law water rights system in a water-scarce environment have become evident, many eastern states have supplemented or replaced common law rules with some form of statutory water allocation system. Typically, these statutes establish a permit system administered by a state water resources agency These permit systems generally have worked well, but many of them have serious weaknesses. For example, water re- sources planning frequently is not coordinated with administration of the permit system. Additionally, most individual permits are of relatively short duration, have no renewal guarantee, and leave permit holders' rights uncertain during periods of water shortage. Uncertainty for long-term planning and for water shortage periods * Professor of Law, University of Kentucky. B.A. 1966, J.D. 1968, University of Florida; LL.M. 1973, Yale University. The author wishes to thank the University of Kentucky Col- lege of Law for supporting the writing of this Article with a summer research grant. 1. Irrigation is a highly consumptive use; more than two-thirds of the water applied to crops generally is lost through evaporation or transpiration. In contrast, about 90% of the water diverted for industrial or municipal purposes ultimately returns to the watercourse. Marquis, Freeman & Heath, The Movement for New Water Rights Law in the Tennessee Valley States, 23 TENN. L. REV. 797, 800 (1955). 2. See generally F Moss, THE WATER CRISIS (1967); J. WRIGHT, THE COMING WATER FAMINE (1966); Maloney & Ausness, Administering State Water Resources: The Need for Long-Range Planning, 73 W VA. L. REv. 209, 209-11 (1971). 3. According to one estimate, by the end of this century, only three of the 18 federally designated water regions in the continental United States will be able to live comfortably with their water supplies. Is U.S. Running Out of Water?, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REP., July 18, 1977, at 33.

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