Water in the west is inherently complicated. A complex web of laws, compacts, and a little thing called “prior appropriation” dictates how and when people and entities are allowed to use water in the west, such as cities and towns, farms and ranches, and industry. If the words “water rights” leaves you scratching your head, and you call a western state your home, you are impacted by them. There’s a fairly high chance that you use water connected to a water right, (unless you have your own well or diversion). Municipalities, agriculture, industry, and even our rivers and streams all depend on the legal structure managing our water.

Join us in this month’s episode of We Are Rivers as we navigate through the complicated nature of water law in the West, including prior appropriation, instream flow rights, and the history of water law in the west.

Photo Credit: Josh Duplechian