This research project was undertaken with the overall objective of analyzing state water rights law in order to determine its possible impact on systems of land application of wastewater. It was determined that most states do not have regulations spe cifically controlling land application of wastewater, and that an analysis would have to be undertaken of basic state water law principles which, for the most part, have been developed with entirely different uses of water in mind. Several basic dichotomies were noted which could have some impact on the treatment of land application systems in different locations. There is a basic distinction between the "riparian" states of hte East, which emphasize the right of each riparian landowner along a watercourse to the use of the water, and the "appropriation" states of the West, which emphasize that the right inures to the prior user of the water. In addition, most states in both the reparian and appropriation categories distinguish between "natural watercourses," "surface water," and "groundwater," with different legal considerations and results frequently occurring in different categories of water within the same state. Occasional abstract legal requirements of absolute purity of waters were found which, if literally applied, could pose adverse implications for any innovative uses of water, including land application. For the most part, state water rights law was found to contain enough flexibility, through its emphasis on encouraging "reasonable" uses of water, to enable land application systems to operate free from legal uncertainty.

Land Application of Wastewater and State Water Law: An Overview (Volume 1)

This research project was undertaken with the overall objective of analyzing state water rights law in order to determine its possible impact on systems of land application of wastewater. It was determined that most states do not have regulations spe cifically controlling land application of wastewater, and that an analysis would have to be undertaken of basic state water law principles which, for the most part, have been developed with entirely different uses of water in mind. Several basic dichotomies were noted which could have some impact on the treatment of land application systems in different locations. There is a basic distinction between the "riparian" states of hte East, which emphasize the right of each riparian landowner along a watercourse to the use of the water, and the "appropriation" states of the West, which emphasize that the right inures to the prior user of the water. In addition, most states in both the reparian and appropriation categories distinguish between "natural watercourses," "surface water," and "groundwater," with different legal considerations and results frequently occurring in different categories of water within the same state. Occasional abstract legal requirements of absolute purity of waters were found which, if literally applied, could pose adverse implications for any innovative uses of water, including land application. For the most part, state water rights law was found to contain enough flexibility, through its emphasis on encouraging "reasonable" uses of water, to enable land application systems to operate free from legal uncertainty.