Kansas v. Colorado

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The current litigation stems from a dispute regarding the water rights to the Arkansas River. Kansas and Colorado have a long history of disagreement concerning the river, arguing before the Court on two previous occasions, 1907 and 1943. After the 1943 action, the states developed the Arkansas River Compact, which was intended to apportion the Arkansas River between the two states. In 1985, Kansas alleged that Colorado had violated the Compact and sought legal recourse before the Supreme Court. The Court appointed a Special Master to investigate the allegations and submit recommendations to the Court.

In 1994, the Special Master issued his first report, which recommended that the Court find Colorado had violated the Compact in certain respects. Since then, the Master has issued three more reports and the states have filed various objections, most of which the Court has dismissed. This hearing concerns the fourth report recently submitted by the Master addressing the remaining remedy issues. Kansas has filed six exceptions to the reports recommendations, and the United States has intervened to ask the Court to overrule two of them.