Unsettled Waters: A blog on water rights in the American West

Quickpost: I know what I promised, and that I'm breaking it. More on Andean glaciers, melt-water, in the next post (honest). Here, I'm just going to point out Aquadoc's latest post on exempt wells in the West, and his useful (.pdf) document written by Bracken on this really good overview of Western States and their differential policies on exempt wells. Treatment on New Mexico starts on p 171(-175) if you want a short-cut on reading. Fascinating reading, and a good follow-up to the original post from February on the problem of domestic wells.

Consider this post an "interlude" on purely New Mexican affairs, as we spend some time thinking about urban water demands in the West . That's not entirely true, really, since it was recently announced that a desalination plant may appear on the horizon in northern Albuquerque to treat the vast reserve of brackish water lying under the surface. Who knows, Rio Rancho might be able to boast of the lowest "goiter" incidence rate in the United States if that water is salty enough (ha!). The recent decision by the Nevada State Supreme Court came as a shocker to Las Vegas hydromogul Pat Mulroy . It was another reminder of how important the "urbanization of water" is across the Western United States. The setback for Las Vegas (NV) is notable; the groundwater piping would have extended far into the basins north of the city , and the demise of this system has also set back a possible deal with the state of Utah over water resources. What cities in the Wes...