Our Sustainable Northwest

New Class Aims to Take the Fight Out of Water Disputes

The Columbia River is One Example of Fierce Competition for Water

June 20, 2008

OREGON/There’s a saying in the West: whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting. But what if you could take the fight out of water conflicts? Oregon State University is offering a series of courses that aims to do just that. The goal is to teach water users to make peace, not war. But will it work?   

Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports.

 

Water and the Western States

According to a January 16, 2006 article by the Idaho Statesman:

1874 — Cattle ranchers Orville Buck and George Heath harvested grain and claimed irrigation water rights in Willow Creek near Idaho Falls, establishing the oldest rights in the Upper Snake River Valley.

Since the west was wrested from native tribes, water rights and jurisdictions have been a matter of heated debate. Western water law is extremely complicated and is generall recognized to fall under the jurisdiction of the respective state. Laws are based on "common law" (law based on custom and tradition and court decisions) as well as on state statutes. 

Enviros Recruit Ratepayers into Dam Fight

November 14, 2007

OREGON/Environmental groups and an Indian tribe are stepping up pressure on Portland-based Pacific Power. They're recruiting utility ratepayers into a fight over dam removal on the Klamath River.

Tom Banse reports.