Welcome to Dividing the Waters

The water rights of Wyoming's Wind River Reservation were adjudicated after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling.

Dividing the Waters is a collaboration of a network of judges, special masters and referees who preside over western water adjudications and other complex water litigation.

The central purpose of the Dividing the Waters project is to improve the management and outcome of general stream adjudications and other complex water-related litigation affecting western people and the region's environment. State trial judges are most directly served by this project although state appellate judges, federal trial and appellate judges, and U.S. supreme court special masters are also involved in project activities.

Since its inception in 1993, the project has pursued five goals:

1. To share information about how the different states and courts have structured and conducted stream adjudications and other complex water law litigation;
2. To discuss some of the major problems judges confront in conducting these adjudications and cases;
3. To discuss what works and what does not work so that others do not have to make the same mistakes;
4. To benefit from the expertise of resource people who are involved in the many subject areas touched by these cases; and
5. To enable judges, masters, and referees to meet one another and develop lasting personal and professional relationships.

The project focuses on case management, alternative dispute resolution, and the sharing of practical experience by a diverse group of judges, masters and referees who participate in Dividing the Waters activities.

Here you will find information about the western states in which there are general stream adjudications underway or significant complex water litigation. We also publish legal decisions, commentary, articles and speeches about important aspects of water law and policy. You will find links to the web sites of general stream adjudications in 14 states, as well as links to other useful sources of information, including our efforts to train stakeholders in general stream adjudications so that they can represent themselves and their communities.

Disclaimer

None of the information presented on this site necessarily reflects the personal views of any particular judge, master, or referee associated with Dividing the Waters. None of the information constitutes a legal or factual determination by any judicial official associated with the project.