Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the right to the water or at least to some of it in some capacity.
That's the case with some, though not all, water on public lands.
However, there's a catch-22 in all this, too.
In California, for example, and elsewhere as determined by
the U.S. Supreme Court, the public has access rights to navigable
waters no matter who owns the rights to drink or use the water.
That can have both positive and negative effects on water sup-
plies and access to them for drinking and industry. The California
Supreme Court used that principle to limit the amount of water
the city of Los Angeles can divert as drinking water from certain
tributaries of Mono Lake in the northeastern portion of the Sierra
Madre Mountains. Because the rivers are used for recreation, a cer-
tain amount of fl ow is required to remain in the river, thus limiting
what Los Angeles can draw out.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S ROLE
The federal government also joins the party at the water-distribution
table because of its responsibilities for broad regulation and monitor-
ing of the resource. Think Hoover Dam in the West, the Clean Water
Act, and more.
It's tough to get a handle on the water issue when more than 20
different federal agencies have a hand in water use, development,
and management, says Sandia Laboratories' Hightower. He points
to a few agencies and some of their tasks.
USGS handles groundwater.
The Bureau of Reclamation regulates surface water and hydro-
power in the West.
The Defense Department's Army Corps of Engineers man-
ages flood control and navigation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), part of the Department of Commerce, deals with
precipitation, rainfall monitoring systems, and more.
The Department of Agriculture regulates irrigation and rural
water and electric utilities.
The National Nuclear Security Administration's national lab-
oratories study water as it relates to national security issues.
