"Water cuts aimed at farmers amid the West’s megadrought have set the stage for bitter legal and political fights over one of the most overlooked water uses—the right of water to remain in streams to sustain fish and endangered species, lawyers say.
The drought is poised to call that right into question, pitting drinking water providers and food growers against conservationists who want to keep streams wet so that fish can survive.
“When the choice is between drinking water for a community and water for flora and fauna, I think that’s where we’ll see conflict begin,” said Fred Breedlove, a water rights lawyer and counsel at Snell & Wilmer LLP in Phoenix.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation this week announced a first-ever water shortage in the Colorado River Basin that is expected to force Arizona farmers to cut their water use and eventually force further cuts across all seven states in the basin."
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment August 23, 2021.
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