The views expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect their respective institutions or the views of any states that are members of the Western Governors' Association or Western States Water Council. Any errors are the sole responsibility of the authors.
A forthcoming report from the Western States Water Council examines water reuse in 17 western states, with a focus on state efforts to address some of the barriers to wider use of the practice.
Most western states allow landowners to withdraw certain amounts of groundwater for specified purposes without obtaining a water right permit. As water demands increase in the West, some developers are using exempt wells to supply water to residential developments without acquiring the permits and water rights needed to build public water supply systems. This has led to concerns that the cumulative impact of these wells could impair senior water rights, create environmental problems, and threaten water quality in some areas. This article explores the considerations associated with mitigating exempt well impacts and argues that surgical approaches focused on specific issues and geographic areas (scalpels) are more politically and administratively feasible than broad efforts to repeal or reduce exemptions on a statewide basis (hammers). The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not represent those of the Western States Water Council or its member states.
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