Arizona v. California: Riding the Wave of Federal Riparianism

In Arizona v. California, The US Supreme Court Addressed whether the concepts of judicial finality and certainty of water rights preclude changes in water rights apportionment. The Court ruled in favor of substantially altering existing water rights to the Colorado River and challenged both the legacy of the prior appropriation doctrine and the resource sovereignty of western states. The Court appears to have change its policy in a deliberate shift away from private interests and toward a riparian, public notion of water distribution. The disruptive presence of the federal sector as a western water user is discussed, as are potential negative impacts the west will suffer if the Court continues in its move toward federal riparianism.