Assured Water Supply Laws: Assessing Their Value, Solving Sprawl Lincoln Davies

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Assured Water Supply Laws Finding a Place in
the East for an Emerging Western Model?
Lincoln Davies Associate Professor of
Law S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of
Utah DaviesL_at_law.utah.edu
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Assured Water Supply Laws Finding a Place in
the East for an Emerging Western Model?
Lincoln Davies Associate Professor of
Law S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of
Utah DaviesL_at_law.utah.edu
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Assured Water Supply Laws Finding a Place in
the East for an Emerging Western Model?
Lincoln Davies Associate Professor of
Law S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of
Utah DaviesL_at_law.utah.edu
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Assured Water Supply Laws Finding a Place in
the East for an Emerging Western Model?
Lincoln Davies Associate Professor of
Law S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of
Utah DaviesL_at_law.utah.edu
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The Basic Assured Supply Requirement

• The legislative body of a city or county . . .
  shall include as a condition in any . . .
  subdivision approval a requirement that a
  sufficient water supply shall be available. . .
  .
• - California S.B. 221

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United States Annual Average Precipitation
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U.S. Population Change by Percentage 1990 - 2000
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Las Vegas Urban Land Growth 1907 - 1995
Source U.S. Geological Service
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Western States with Assured Supply Laws

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Texas
• Washington

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Assured Supply Laws Four Questions

• Do they have any value?
• Can they stop sprawl?
• If they work, how should they be designed?
• Can they work in the East?

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Do Assured Supply Laws Have Any Value?

• Consumer protection
• Improved planning
• Environmental protection

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Assured Supply Laws Benefits

• Prevention of consumer surprise or dry
  development
• Greater holistic planning
• Project level
• Interagency basis
• More efficient water rights allocation
• Increased water conservation

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Assured Supply Laws Costs

• Exacerbation of housing inequalities
• Symbolic assurance
• Brownlash

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Will Assured Supply Laws Stop Sprawl?

• These laws are not going to stop sprawl.
  They are just going to make us more creative in
  how we find the water.
  
• - Dave Requa, California land use
  planner

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Assured Supply Law Design Compulsoriness

• When compulsory
• Fault line design factor
• Greater likelihood of achieving consumer
  protection, planning, and conservation benefits

More
Less
California
Arizona
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Assured Supply Law Design Stringency

• When stringent
• As with compulsory laws, greater likelihood of
  achieving consumer protection, planning, and
  conservation benefits
• Fault line design factor on symbolic assurance
  risk

More
Less
California
Texas
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Assured Supply Law Design Universality
More
Less

• When universal
• Greater consumer protection, planning, and
  conservation benefits because more developments
  are subject to requirement

California
Texas
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Assured Supply Law Design Granularity

• When granular
• Greater consumer protection, planning, and
  conservation benefits
• Removal of key potential loophole in laws

More
Less
Washington
California
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Assured Supply Law Design Interconnectedness

• When more interconnected
• Generally weaker impact than other factors, but
  should tend to increase quality of assured water
  supply assessments
• Clear positive impact on planning synergies

More
Less
California
Oregon
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Atlanta Population Change 1990 - 2000
Source Brookings Institute
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U.S. Population Change by Percentage 1990 - 2000
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U.S. Population Change by Percentage 2000 - 2007
Source United States Census
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U.S. Population Change by Number 2006 - 2007
Source United States Census
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