Interstate Water Compacts: A License to Hoard?

The purpose of this essay is to familiarize readers with the facts and background of these issues in this important case, and to lay out the policy implications inherent in its resolution. This Article begins by providing some background and history regarding management of, and disputes over, water in the United States, with an emphasis on the value of interstate compacts in resolving and preventing disputes. The path of the current dispute between Texas and Oklahoma requires the Article to trace three things: (1) describing the creation of the Red River Compact as well as its terms; (2) detailing TRWD’s need for water and Oklahoma’s water export restrictions; and (3) laying out the reasoning of the Tenth Circuit below8 and the parties’ certiorari-stage legal arguments. Finally, the Author will explain what she believes are the consequences and policy implications at stake in the resolution of this dispute