This casebook, significantly revised since the last edition, addresses both traditional water law rules and modern water management challenges. It covers Eastern and Western U.S. water law in detail, examining both classic principles and statutory modifications of the riparian rights and prior appropriation doctrines. It also explores public dimensions of water law, with chapters devoted to public water uses and the Public Trust Doctrine, environmental quality issues in water management, and government takings relating to water use restrictions and flood damages. In addressing issues from drought to flooding, the book considers the challenges posed by climate change for managing water resources in the 21st Century.

In addition to the inclusion of important new cases, legislation, and federal and state administrative developments, substantial changes in the new 8th edition include:


an entirely new chapter addressing issues of conjunctive management of ground and surface water —a first for water casebooks.
a completely revamped chapter on groundwater law, with new text on groundwater hydrology, allocation, and management.
substantially revised chapters dealing with federal water projects, federal and tribal reserved rights, and interstate water issues.


While the book remains national in scope, this edition offers new material from states with major recent developments in water law, including California, Colorado, the Pacific Northwest states, and Texas.