Water Disputes

Apparently the Supreme Court deals frequently with water disputes among the states. Here are two articles about recent cases. The first has been settled, a bit unconventionally. The second case was argued on Monday but has not been decided.

The key to settling a big fight. "Some 11 months ago, the Supreme Court divided deeply as it decided a preliminary issue in a long-running spat between neighboring states over their competing needs for water. For the first time in the Court’s history of refereeing such interstate disputes, the majority allowed private claimants to something owned by sovereign states to assume a key role in the lawsuit. The 5-4 decision sparked a rousing dissent by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. It now turns out that the ruling may well have been the key to the settlement of the entire dispute, leading to the lawsuit’s dismissal earlier this month. "

Argument recap: The murky depths of water law "For most of the hour set aside on Monday to hear a major dispute over water, between two thirsty states, the Supreme Court waded to and fro among the phrases of a formal compact that supposedly defines each state’s rights — but, apparently, not carefully enough drafted to be clear. What the Court came to appreciate, before the hour was over, though, was that in the western states, life — as to water rights, at least — is not fair. Justice Stephen G. Breyer summed it up best: “There’s no way to read this compact so it’s share-and-share alike….There’s no fair way to decide this case.”"