ABSTRACT
A ccess to water supplies in many areas of the western states is governed by prior appropriation, a “first-in-time, first-in-right” water rights system. Irrigators across the West hold senior water rights, while municipalities and newer uses such as instream flows and recreation typically have junior priority. In the event of shortage, irrigators with senior water rights will receive their full allocations, while junior rights holders may be shorted. Lower-priority water users face high economic and political costs during water shortages. However, these losses can be mitigated through well-structured negotiated temporary transfers of water. Temporary transfers are not suitable to provide long-term supplies for population growth (as a temporary borrowing of water from an established user), but they can serve as a “buffer” over subsequent periods of drought. Further, temporary transfers are less costly in both financial and political terms than permanent acquisitions of agricultural land and water, and they generally engender less heated opposition over potential third-party impacts.
