Supreme Court Set To Oversee More Water Disputes Than Ever
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court began its term with a case that could have significant ramifications for the country’s water systems and could also mark the beginning of a growing trend in legal battles for the land’s highest judicial authority.
The court heard oral arguments via telephone for Texas v. New Mexico, a state showdown over shared water resources that are becoming increasingly stressed. Though Supreme Court justices have historically been opposed to overseeing such technical issues, experts believe this type of legal dispute will become increasingly prevalent and require their attention more often.
“Scholars say the court will have to get used to wading into interstate water conflicts more often, as climate change triggers extreme weather and stresses shared resources,” Bloomberg reported. “‘We have now the modern-day equivalent of water wars, and it’s only going to get worse,’ [University of Maryland law professor Robert] Percival said.”
The specifics of Texas v. New Mexico revolve around a 1949 agreement that governs how the two states divide source water from the Pecos River. The Supreme Court is tasked with deciding whether New Mexico got too much credit for water deliveries to Texas during a period of heavy rain in 2014. As it concerns two states that have pervasive source-water scarcity issues and increased water-supply stresses, it could have major legal ramifications for similar cases in the near future.
“The dispute is an example of increasingly familiar situations in which decades-old water compacts don’t adequately account for population growth, economic shifts, and decreased rainfall and water storage capabilities,” per Bloomberg. “The Pecos River case will test the justices’ willingness to read water compacts strictly or flexibly, and to account for extreme weather and other changing circumstances.”
For instance, the case of Florida v. Georgia centers on a similar dispute, caused for similar reasons, as Water Online reported in 2016. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments for this case as well. Then there is a dispute between Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado over the use of groundwater connected to the Rio Grande. Mississippi and Tennessee are also embroiled in a legal dispute over shared groundwater.
All told, it should be a busy near future for the Supreme Court when it comes to source-water cases. And its upcoming rulings could have a significant impact on how water systems manage their resources across the country going forward.
To read more about water resource stress, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.