The theme of this issue, Water Rights and Wrongs, highlights the interface between water as a hydrologic reality and water as a resource regulated by law. From my perspective as a lawyer, law serves valid public purposes in regulating competition for a limited resource and in providing a procedure for resolving disputes. However, it also would be fair as a general statement to say that law lags behind reality. For example, with regard to science, law can get in the way of implementing what makes sense from a scientific perspective. With regard to economic needs, public values such as recreation and changed perceptions, law can be (and often is) stuck in a different era. Another challenge for water professionals is the myriad of sources of law that affect water - federal, state, regulatory, judicial, and tribal. Each of these situations pose a challenge for water professionals who need to respect the limits of law and yet find a way to do their jobs. This issue of Water Resources IMPACT discusses some of these challenges.
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