The current California and Western drought has created an opportunity for some to call for the end of "prior appropriation," the doctrine that has governed the distribution of water since Americans settled the arid West. In response, the Family Farm Alliance (Alliance), which represents irrigators in the 17 Western states, has issued a report on the prior appropriation doctrine, and its role in the modern water world. The Argument for the Prior Appropriation Doctrine to Allocate Water in the Western U.S. can be accessed here.
The Alliance notes that agriculture in the West - as in other parts of the world - accounts for a large portion of the water used for human purposes and that many of the senior water rights holders in the West are farmers and ranchers, and that the calls for an end to prior appropriation are coming primarily from academia, some environmental and development interests, and junior rights holders. They claim that the Western water rights system is outdated and hampering efforts to address the West's historic drought. The Alliance's paper refutes this claim.