About this Guide

This guide will help researchers locate primary and secondary sources relevant to the general topic of groundwater law in the United States. It is intended to provide viewers with helpful starting points for their initial research. However, researchers must conduct additional research to locate federal and state case law, statutes, and regulations specific to their research topic and jurisdiction.

What is Water Law?

Water Law concerns the regulation of our water supply. Private and public water rights in the United States are primarily controlled by the states, which have adopted water management systems and allocations of rights that best fit their needs. States must still adhere to federal guidelines prompted by executive agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Department of Agriculture. This guide focuses on groundwater, a subtopic of water law that concerns hidden, subsurface waters found in geological formations beneath the earth.

Related Areas of Law

Water Law often closely relates to and intersects with other areas of the law due to its fugacious nature, potential for harm and pollution, need for conservation, human dependence, significant reliance by certain industries, and more. Such areas can include tort law, environmental law, property law, and oil and gas law.

Research Topics

Specific to groundwater law, research topics could include: (1) management and allocation of groundwater; (2) ownership and transfer of rights in groundwater based on common law doctrines, statutes, and permit systems; (3) groundwater withdrawal and the Takings Clause; (4) liability for pollution and contamination; (5) groundwater-dependent ecosystems; (6) use in oil and gas drilling operations; (7) conjunctive surface and groundwater rights; and (8) applicability of the Public Trust Doctrine.

Getting Started: Existing Research Guides

Water Rights & Resources

This is a guide offered by HeinOnline. It explains basic water law principles and provides references to state and federal resources.

• Documents and Content > Groundwater
• Subject Compilations of State Laws > Groundwater

Water Law Resources

An environmental law research guide by the Georgetown Law Library. It provides a list of federal and state resources relevant to water law. See the source below for a groundwater specific reference.

• State Water Law > Groundwater Laws and Regulations: A Preliminary Survey of Thirteen States

Water Law Research Guide

This is a helpful guide on federal and state water law by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law Library.