Law of the River

Law of the River is a legal concept that has given priority to California to water from the Colorado River based on the Colorado River Compact, which preferred the states that were using more of the river's water in 1922.

By 2022 the Colorado River was drying up, due in part to extensive marijuana growing that soaks up massive amounts of water (along with other agricultural growing and California's large population).

As the Ninth Circuit summarized:

“

The "Law of the River" comprises the legal obligations that govern the allocation and use of the water of the Colorado River. See, e.g., Arizona v. California, 547 U.S. 150, 126 S. Ct. 1543, 164 L. Ed. 2d 271 (2006). It includes both inter-state and international agreement with respect to the River's use.

”

Grand Canyon Tr. v. United States Bureau of Reclamation, No. 11-16326, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 16859, at *25 n.13 (9th Cir. Aug. 13, 2012).