American water law, floated by its policies and rationales, evolved under opportune circumstances that bestowed on this young country abundant seasonal rainfall; thousands of mighty and contributory surface waters; and multitudes of sub-surface geologic formations that discharged and recharged, over the unhurried course of geologic time, providing seemingly limitless quantities of naturally-cooled and filtered stores of water from underground. These gifts of a palpably benevolent natural order--and the supportive understanding that water is a renewable resource-- helped to root pragmatic societal optimism regarding the use of water "from sea to shining sea", in accord with the popular anthem "America, the Beautiful". The rights, rules, and regulations that came to embody water law were stood up under these conditions.
The local-to-global conditions that account for the stocks and flows of water resources today, including the accelerating changes in when and how it "renews", have shifted massively since our water ownership and management regime evolved. It is evident that, under current and continuing challenges, the regime needs to evolve faster and further than it has ever done before. Why and how?
In this new course, we will take a close look at several of the challenging conditions that are putting immense pressure on water resources, our understandings of them, the legal management of them, and the values and principles that ought to drive inquiries into our short- and long-term goals. As to each such major undertaking within the course, we will explore the newest ideas for regime-change--and possibly shape some of our own.
Subjects we are likely to take up in a slow sequence to allow for the extended consideration of some of these topics includes: consumptive water use for data centers; the re-use of "produced water" (especially in Texas) for irrigation and other purposes; the federal and state regulation of toxic chemical introduction into water bodies; the de-salination alternative; and the management of water under conditions of severe drought and severe flood. At least one topic will include international waters and the special challenges for management that they pose (likely, our topic will involve the Rio Grande River.)
The productive dividends on offer include collaborative inter-disciplinary engagement; the careful construction of factual as well as legal understandings; outside expert participation; and writing with and without the use of AI. There will be no final exam. There is no prerequisite for this course.
Cohen, Jane M. 