Water disputes
I have served in the roles of facilitator, mediator, arbitrator, lawyer and water project manager. In my practice, I have worked with a wide variety of water stakeholders including, among others: farmers, ranchers, sprinkler irrigators, irrigation ditches/mutual ditch companies, ground water users (irrigation and DCMI), cities/municipalities, water boards, water districts, water commissioners, water conservancy districts, equipment manufacturers, state regulatory agencies, and federal regulatory agencies. I have also worked in association with water organizations such as the American Water Works Association, Water For People, SNV and the World Bank-Water and Sanitation Program, as well as multiple U.S. or European nongovernmental organizations.
I have worked in a wide variety of water matters including:
- Long range water supply planning
- Aquifer and basin water management plans
- Conjunctive management
- Seniority and futile call issues
- Interstate water matters
- Water litigation
- Surface water hydrology including rain fall runoff prediction, flood prediction, river modeling, precipitation patterns and river system changes due to reservoirs
- Irrigation water usage including diversion, consumptive use and return flow studies
- Surface water-ground water interconnection including depletion studies on ground water or of ground water use on surface flows
- Competing water demand studies and litigation include surface ground water disputes
- Ground water flow patterns including interconnection among various aquifers.Design, construction and use of water reservoirs and distribution systems.
- River rehabilitation programs
- Urban drainage
- Water Conservancy Districts and their operations and management
- Water rights including appropriation, sale, transfer and usage
Example engagements
- Mediator, basin wide water allocation dispute, 2018 (New Mexico)
- Mediator, dispute of rights to waste water connections, 2018 (Colorado)
- Facilitator, disputes over protection of groundwater near fuel facility, 2017-2018 (Hawaii)
Other resources