The Regulated Riparian Model Water Code

The purpose of the Model Water Code Project of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was to develop proposed legislation for adoption by state governments for allocating water rights among competing interests and for resolving other qualitative conflicts over water.

To this end, input was procured from a variety of people involved with water-related issues, such as engineers, government administrators, lawyers, business people and academics.

Due to the continued divergence among the water laws of eastern and western States, the development of a single code appropriate for all the States was not possible.

In the end, two different Model Water Codes had to be prepared.

This one, Regulated Riparian Model Water Code, reflects the needs and legal traditions of the eastern States.

Since regulated riparian statutes allocate the right to use water on the basis of whether the use is ""reasonable,"" this Code follows this pattern for the allocation of the waters of a State.

This Code also addresses the difficult question of multijurisdictional transfers of water, whether across a water basin boundary or across a state line.