Water Rights & Resource Issues

Quick Takeaways

Water usage and treatment is a huge, yet often taken for granted, part of homeownership.
In the United States, the average family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day – about 70% of this use occurs indoors.
Outdoor water use usually accounts for around 30% of per home water usage but is often much higher in drier parts of the country.

Source: How We Use Water (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Apr. 24, 2023)

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducts water surveys every five years in partnership with local, State, and Federal agencies. However, the most recent data available is from 2015. This data breaks down how America uses our water into 8 categories: public supply, domestic, irrigation, thermoelectric power, self-supplied industrial, mining, livestock, and aquaculture.

Two major yet completely opposite water issues are currently facing the United States, a historic drought in the West and Southwest, and rising sea levels on the coasts. In two major studies released in February of 2022, it was determined that regardless of any future efforts to cut down on greenhouse emissions, the sea level will rise at least one foot by 2050. The drought is showing signs up letting up, but still resulted in huge overhauls in flood protection and water rights in many areas of the county.

The debate for water rights has only grown more contentious in recent years as drought and new agriculture endeavors like recreational marijuana dictate more and more of the water supply. On a positive note, Native American Tribes will see 1.7 billion dollars in federal funds as part of the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund.

A “solar canal” – the first of its kind – has been approved in California. Not only will the 4,000-mile canal bring water to 35 million Californians, but it will also be covered in solar panels, providing clean energy and reducing evaporation as the water travels. Meanwhile in wall street investors are buying up water rights in Colorado.

The shadow of the Flint water crisis still looms large over American’s perception of clean drinking water, and recent chemical contaminants found in water in New Jersey have not helped. Recent events like the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi and the train derailment on Ohio have yet again sparked urgent concerns from citizens about forever chemicals in our water systems.

See References for more information.

References

NAR Library & Archives has already done the research for you. References (formerly Field Guides) offer links to articles, eBooks, websites, statistics, and more to provide a comprehensive overview of perspectives. EBSCO articles (E) are available only to NAR members and require the member's nar.realtor login.

How America Uses Water

Thermoelectric power 41%
Irrigation 37%
Public Supply 12%
Self-supplied industrial 5%
Aquaculture 2%
Mining 1%
Self-supplied domestic 1%
Livestock <1%

Source: Summary of Estimated Water Use in the United States in 2015pdf (U.S. Geological Survey, Jun. 17, 2018)

Water Resources & Issues

Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges (AP News, Aug. 15, 2023)

“Earlier this year, Arizona, California and Nevada released a plan to conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water through 2026 in exchange for $1.2 billion from the federal government. An acre-foot of water is enough to serve two to three households annually. The Interior Department is expected to release its analysis of the proposal this fall and finalize the plan in 2024.”

Boiling Point: Is the Drought Over? (The Los Angeles Times, Feb. 28, 2023)

“Then there’s groundwater. As much rain as we’ve gotten, it’s a drop in the bucket for the underground aquifers that farmers in the Golden State’s Central Valley have been overpumping for decades, causing the ground to sink and roads to buckle. A new report from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that San Joaquin Valley farmers may be forced to leave nearly 900,000 acres dry over the next 20 years — one-fifth of currently irrigated land, as Times columnist George Skelton writes.”

Did the Utah State Legislature Do Enough to Save the Great Salt Lake (The Salt Lake Tribune, Feb. 28, 2023)

“More than half a dozen divisions across two state departments manage various aspects of the lake, from its lakebed to its water quality to its wildlife. Lawmakers have tried to better align those agencies and interests in the past. In 2010, they created the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council. In 2020, they designated a Great Salt Lake Coordinator. Now, with HB491, they’re looking to create a Great Salt Lake Commissioner who will develop a strategic plan for the lake and have some actual power to get things done.”

Coastal Sea Levels in U.S. to Rise a Foot by 2050, Study Confirms (The New York Times, Feb. 16, 2022)

In a report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) it was found that, regardless of mitigating efforts, the sea-level will rise at least one foot by the year 2050. About 40% of United States citizens live within 60 miles of the ocean, many of whom will be in danger of more destructive storm surges, tides, and coastal floods. The report, which was meant to help government officials, city planners, and engineers think about infrastructure, will hopefully serve as a blueprint for future action.

Water Rights

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Supports $580 Million Investment to Fulfill Indian Water Rights (U.S. Department of Interior, Feb. 2, 2023)

"Water is a sacred resource, and water rights are crucial to ensuring the health, safety and empowerment of Tribal communities. Through this funding, the Interior Department will continue to uphold our trust responsibilities and ensure that Tribal communities receive the water resources they have long been promised,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “I am grateful that Tribes, some of whom have been waiting for this funding for decades, are finally getting the resources they are owed with the help of this crucial funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

New York Investors Snapping Up Colorado River Water Rights, Betting Big on an Increasingly Scarce Resource (CBS News, Jan. 31, 2023)

“With the federal government poised to force Western states to change how they manage the alarming shortfall in Colorado River water, there is one constituency with a growing interest in the river's fate that's little known to some: Wall Street investors. Private investment firms are showing a growing interest in an increasingly scarce natural resource in the American West: water in the Colorado River, a joint investigation by CBS News and The Weather Channel has found. For some of the farmers and cities that depend on the river as a lifeline, that interest is concerning.”

Understanding Water Rights: 12 Types of Water Rights (MasterClass, Jun. 7, 2021)

“Water rights refer to legal rights to use water from a specified source. Water rights authorize particular entities—like property owners or private companies—to use, sell, divert, or manage the water. Laws governing water rights vary from state to state, and water permits are issued in accordance with state laws and mandates. The two main types of water rights followed in the US are riparian rights—which refers to the right of a property owner to use water that touches the borders of their property—and prior-appropriation water rights—in which the state grants a party the right to use certain waters.”

Land Use & Water

The Fastest Growing U.S. Metro in the U.S. is Looking to a Shrinking Reservoir to Keep the Boom Going (CNN, Feb. 23, 2023)

“But that reality hasn’t stopped St. George from booming into the fastest growing metro area in the US two years running, according to the US Census Bureau, and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake Powell, their growth will turn to pain. In the meantime, Lake Powell – the country’s second-largest reservoir – has struggled to serve even the places it currently provides water to. Last week it sank to the lowest water level since the reservoir was filled in the 1960s, and since 2000 has lost more than 150 feet.”

The Floods, the Farms, and the River That Roared Back (Wired, Feb. 18, 2023)

“THE SALINAS RIVER is still an important waterway, central to California’s history and critical to the state’s $50 billion agricultural industry. And yet, few words have been written about the “upside-down river,” so called because it runs underground for long distances through a valley so thoroughly beaten into agricultural submission that it has come to be known as the nation’s “Salad Bowl.”

The river’s invisibility means that it’s overlooked and underexamined. Unlike the embattled mountain rivers surging from the High Sierra—the Tuolumne, the San Joaquin, the Stanislaus, the Kern—the Salinas has few chroniclers or defenders.”

Water Quality Issues

Nearly Half of the Tap Water in the US is Contaminated with "forever chemicals" (CNN Health, Jul. 6. 2023)

“PFAS are a family of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals that linger in the environment and the human body. PFAS exposure is linked to problems like cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, decreased fertility, liver damage and hormone suppression, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency... The highest concentrations of PFAS in drinking water were found in the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, the Eastern Seaboard and Central/Southern California, the study said.”

The Problems in the Pipes (The Washington Post, Feb. 18, 2023)

“This account of why an American city of 150,000 has failed to provide its residents with a basic necessity of life — and how that has devastated the community — is based on more than four dozen interviews with residents, water experts, civic leaders, and local, state and federal officials; as well as a review of water policy studies, city records, staff emails and three decades of infrastructure plans. The Post also analyzed the locations and frequency of notices issued since 2017 advising residents to boil their water.”

Water Utilities Brace for Imminent EPA Proposal on PFAS in Water (Bloomberg Law, Feb. 17, 2023)

“The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue its proposed PFAS drinking water standards by March 3, according to the EPA’s latest regulatory agenda. That date is exactly two years after the agency published its 2021 decision to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, under the Safe Drinking Water Act.”

The Water Crisis No One in America is Fixing (Time, Feb. 14, 2023)

“On Feb. 3, 2022, a train loaded with toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a fire and forcing the controlled release and burn of vinyl chloride, a known cancer-causing compound, to avert a disastrous explosion. The environmental catastrophe killed thousands of fish in nearby streams and has triggered growing concerns over the impact on residents’ health and on the village’s surface, ground, and well water.”

How a Toxic Chemical Ended Up in the Drinking Water Supply for 13 Million People (Politico, Jan. 23, 2022)

“New Jersey’s largest drinking water supplier discovered a toxic chemical in the river where it gets water for hundreds of thousands of customers, setting off a major search for polluters that led back to a Pennsylvania wastewater treatment plant and a South Jersey company. The chemical New Jersey American Water Co. found, 1,4-Dioxane, is a byproduct of plastic manufacturing that is considered a likely carcinogen by the federal government.”

Water Education for the REALTOR® & Consumerpdf (Land Use, Property Rights, and Environment Committee, 2024)

The Land Use, Property Rights, and Environment Committee of NAR created a resource for REALTORS® and consumers about water quality issues. The resource gives definitions and facts about PFAs, Potable Water, National Test Sites for Water, Septic Systems & Water, and WOTUS (Waters of the US).

Related Websites

Water Resources Index (United States Geological Survey)

Water Quality "Glossary" (United States Geological Survey)

American Water Resources Association

National Groundwater Association

American Water Works Association

Surf Your Watershed (United States Environmental Protection Agency)—search by zip code

Agriculture and Land Use (United States Environmental Protection Agency)

Urban Land Use and Water Quality (United States Geological Survey)

Water Use in the United States (United States Geological Survey)

Water: U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Imagine a Day Without Water (US Water Alliance)

Water Quality and Supply Issues Monthly Update-Jan 2024 (Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality)

Water (Adaptation Clearinghouse)

eBooks & Other Resources

Books, Videos, Research Reports & More

As a member benefit, the following resources and more are available for loan through the NAR Library. Items will be mailed directly to you or made available for pickup at the REALTOR® Building in Chicago.

Understanding Water Rights and Conflicts (Denver, CO: Burg Young Publishing, 2003) TD 345 Y9

Water Wars: Drought, Flood, Folly and the Politics of Thirst (New York, NY: Riverhead Books, 2002) TD 345 W257

Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2002) TD 223 G58

When the Rivers Run Dry (eBook)

Water Rights & the Environment in the United States (eBook)

Waterwise House & Garden A Guide for Sustainable Living (eBook)

When the Rivers Run Dry: Water – The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century (eBook)

The Clean Water Act Handbook, 2nd ed. (Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 2003) KF 3790 C54

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