Here is our top list of further readings available online:
1. California Environmental Protection Agency - State Water Resources Control Board: Information on the California Water Rights Process;
2. U.S. Department of the Interior - Bureau of Reclamation: Summary of the 1963 Arizona v. California Case;
3. Wise Law Library's Arizona v. California Digital Collection;
4. Colorado River Information Portal; and
5. Legislative Analyst's Office - Colorado River Water: Challenges for California
Below is a list of online and print resources that provide further information on Arizona v. California.
Primary Sources | Analysis and Interpretation | Background and History
*Please note: In order to access the documents in the links below, you will have to be borrower with remote access to HeinOnline, or use the computers at the library. If you have any questions, please contact a reference librarian.
Ott, K. (Ed.). (2010). The Colorado River Documents, 2008. Denver, CO: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region.
The Boulder Canyon Project Act (1928).
United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. (2012). Boulder Canyon Project - Hoover Dam
Wilbur, R. L. & Ely, N. (Eds.). (1933). The Hoover Dam Power and Water Contracts and Related Data. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Haber, D. (1964-65). Arizona v. California -- A Brief Review. Natural Resources Journal, 4, 17-28. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from the HeinOnline database (on-site access only).
Argues that the result of the case “may be a national regional scheme under which no single area of the region can completely frustrate the desire and needs of the region as a whole.”
Leaphart, B. (1972). Sale and Lease of Indian Water Rights. Montana Law Review, 33, 266-276. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from the HeinOnline database (on-site access only).
Considers the unanswered questions in Arizona v. California concerning the transferability of Indian water rights and the possibility of their water rights being used for other purposes besides agriculture.
Meyers, C. (1966-67). The Colorado River. Stanford Law Review, 19, 1-75. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from the HeinOnline database (on-site access only).
This article seeks to “identify the forces that have led to the settlement of the conflicts by agreement, the nature of the settlements, and the areas of disagreement left open (intentionally or unintentionally) in the documents of settlement.”
Sax, J. (1964-65). Problems of Federalism in Reclamation Law. University of Colorado Law Review, 37, 49-84. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from the HeinOnline database (on-site access only).
This article argues that in the Arizona v. California case, federal power was asserted over state power in its interpretation of Section 8 of the Reclamation Act of 1902.
Trelease, F. (1963). Arizona v. California: Allocation of Water Resources to People, States, and Nation. Supreme Court Review, 1963, 158-205. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from the HeinOnline database (on-site access only).
This article considers whether or not the decision gave Congress the power to void interstate compacts and to reallocate waters of interstate streams according to some other formula.
Hundley, N. (1975). Water and the West: The Colorado River Compact and the Politics of Water in the American West. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Reisner, M. (1993). Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water. New York: Penguin Books.
Terrell, J. U. (1965). War for the Colorado River. Glendale, CA: Arthur H. Clark Co.
Water Law Collection at San Diego Law Library
San Diego Law Library has many resources on water law and water resource development. See our GiLL Catalog for a listing of titles.