Western Water Law or The Law Of I Got It First!

March 23, 2009 by Jerry · 2 Comments 

Most land in the western United States would be best described as worthless. That is, without water! While most lands east of the Mississippi River are riparian in nature, water rules are simple; if water runs on or below my land, it’s mine! In the west, water is literally king, and ownership is determined by the courts. Water appropriation first became an issue with the hydraulic mining of gold in the 1850’s, and the situation has only become more complex as the years passed. Read on……………..