Water, Adaptation, and Property Rights on the Snake and Klamath Rivers1

doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2006.00024.x

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Wiley InterScience

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association

Volume 43 Issue 2, Pages 308 - 321

Published Online: 5 Mar 2007

Published on behalf of the American Water Resources Association

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Water, Adaptation, and Property Rights on the Snake and Klamath Rivers¹

Richard A. Slaughter* and John D. Wiener ^{2 †}

*Respectively, Consulting Economist, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington ; and ^† Research Associate, Research Program on Environment and Behavior, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder (E-Mail/Slaughter: richard@rsaboise.com).

² Respectively, Consulting Economist, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington; and Research Associate, Research Program on Environment and Behavior, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder (E-Mail/Slaughter: richard@rsaboise.com).

KEYWORDS

climate change • drought • irrigation • institutional adaptation • water law • water markets/marketing • water policy/regulation/decision making

ABSTRACT

Abstract: Water demand in a viable economy tends to be dynamic: it changes over time in response to growth, drought, and social policy. Institutional capacity to re-allocate water between users and uses under stress from multiple sources is a key concern. Climate change threatens to add to those stresses in snowmelt systems by changing the timing of runoff and possibly increasing the severity and duration of drought. This article examines Snake and Klamath River institutions for their ability to resolve conflict induced by demand growth, drought, and environmental constraints on water use. The study finds that private ownership of water rights has been a major positive factor in successful adaptation, by providing the basis for water marketing and by promoting the use of negotiation and markets rather than politics to resolve water conflict.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1752-1688.2006.00024.x About DOI