Arizona v. California

Arizona v. California is a set of United States Supreme Court cases, all dealing with disputes over water distribution from the Colorado River between the states of Arizona and California. It also covers the amount of water that the State of Nevada receives from the river as well.

When a dispute arises between two states, the case is filed for original jurisdiction with the United States Supreme Court. This is one of the very limited circumstances where the court acts as original jurisdiction; that is, as a trial court. In all other cases the court acts as the highest level appellate court in the United States.

The cases involved were all named Arizona v. California, and were decided in 1931, 1934, 1936, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1979, 1983, 1984, and 2000.

The original decision, 283 U.S. 423 (1931), specified the amount of water to which Arizona was entitled under the Colorado River Compact of 1921.

Since then, the case has been relitigated several times because of Arizona's claims of California using more water than it is entitled.

• 292 U.S. 341 (1934): Arizona argued that the Colorado River Compact was unconstitutional.
• 298 U.S. 558 (1936): Arizona requested that the Supreme Court:
  • specify an amount of Colorado River water for Arizona's use
  • limit the amount allotted to California
• 373 U.S. 546 (1963): The court specified the amount of water to which each state in the Colorado River Compact was entitled.
• 376 U.S. 340 (1964): The court adjusted the amounts of water specified in 373 US 546.
• 383 U.S. 268 (1968): The court adjusted its previous decree.
• 439 U.S. 419 (1979): The court adjusted the specified amounts of water for all parties to the case.
• 460 U.S. 605 (1983): The court issued a decree regarding unadjudicated rights of Indian tribes to Colorado River water.
• 466 U.S. 144 (1984): The court adjusted its previous decree.
• 531 U.S. 1 (2000): The court adjusted the specified amounts of water for several parties to the case.

In summary, as long as at least 7,500,000 acre feet (9.3 km³) of water is available from the Colorado River, California is allocated 4,400,000 acre·ft (5.4 km³); Nevada, 300,000 acre·ft (370,000,000 m³); and Arizona, the remainder. If more water is available, California is entitled to 50% of the water from the Colorado River, Arizona to 46%, and Nevada to 4%. If less water is available, the Secretary of the Interior must allocate the water according to various formulas (which were the subjects of the court cases) to ensure that each state receives a specified amount, with California receiving an absolute fixed maximum of 4,400,000 acre feet (5.4 km³) per year (547 U.S. 157). Some of the adjustments involved rights of the U.S. Government with respect to supplying water to Indian tribes pursuant to Executive Orders signed by the President of the United States as far back as 1907.

The 1962 oral arguments set a modern record for the Supreme Court: 16 hours over four days.^[1]

See also

• Wyoming v. Colorado
• List of United States Supreme Court cases: volume 283, volume 292, volume 298, volume 373, volume 376, volume 383, volume 439, volume 460, volume 466, volume 531
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume

References

Colorado River system Jurisdictions United States Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico Utah Wyoming Mexico Baja California Sonora Canyons Byers Canyon Gore Canyon Red Gorge Glenwood Canyon De Beque Canyon Horsethief Canyon Ruby Canyon Westwater Canyon Cataract Canyon Narrow Canyon Glen Canyon Grand Canyon Marble Canyon Granite Gorge Middle Granite Gorge Lower Granite Gorge Grand Wash Canyon Iceberg Canyon Virgin Canyon Boulder Canyon Black Canyon Pyramid Canyon Mohave Canyon Natural features River course Rocky Mountains Colorado River Basin Colorado Plateau Grand Lake Horseshoe Bend Sonoran Desert Mojave Desert Mohave Valley Parker Valley Palo Verde Valley Colorado Desert Salton Sea Imperial Valley New River Delta Montague Island Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez Tributaries Blue River Dirty Devil River Dolores River Escalante River Eagle River Fraser River Gila River Green River Gunnison River Kanab Creek Little Colorado River Paria River Roaring Fork River San Juan River Virgin River Williams Fork Engineering Mainstem dams Shadow Mountain Granby Windy Gap Grand Valley Price-Stubb Glen Canyon Hoover Davis Parker Headgate Rock Palo Verde Imperial Laguna Morelos Major reservoirs Fontenelle Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir Blue Mesa Reservoir Navajo Lake Lake Powell Lake Mead Lake Mohave Lake Havasu Imperial Reservoir Theodore Roosevelt Lake San Carlos Lake Aqueducts and canals Grand Ditch Colorado River Aqueduct San Diego Aqueduct Central Arizona Project All-American Canal Coachella Canal Water projects Boulder Canyon Project Colorado-Big Thompson Project Colorado River Storage Project Grand Valley AVA Yuma Project Designated areas Arches National Park Canyonlands National Park Colorado National Monument Dead Horse Point State Park Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Grand Canyon National Park Lake Mead National Recreation Area Rocky Mountain National Park Related topics Arizona v. California Colorado River Board of California Colorado River Compact Floyd Dominy Lee's Ferry International Boundary and Water Commission Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Rapids and features U.S. Bureau of Reclamation William Mulholland