Who Owns the Groundwater? Bob, a rancher in Arizona, drilled a 50-meter-deep wel
ID: 299344 • Letter: W
Question
Who Owns the Groundwater? Bob, a rancher in Arizona, drilled a 50-meter-deep well that readily supplied all the water his family needed for 10 years. Then his new neighbor, Glen, drilled a network of new deeper (150-meter) wells to irrigate a cotton crop in response to a jump in cotton prices. Within 6 months Bob’s well had gone dry. Bob took Glen to court, arguing that rocks stay but water moves--essentially, that a landowner cannot own the groundwater any more than he or she owns the air above the land. Glen’s lawyer disagreed, claiming that Glen owned everything under the ground surface of his ranch and could pump as much groundwater as his crops needed as long as the well was on his property.
Draw a diagram or provide a descriptive explanation to illustrate why Bob’s well went dry. How could Bob ensure a continuous supply of groundwater?
Explanation / Answer
According to many cases ; ground water must be appropriately distributed before it owned. So that no one owns groundwater without properly distributed by state. Indirectly neither Bob nor Glen owns groundwater but it is the state who owns.
There may have many reason why Bob's well has gone dry for example less recharge of groundwater; climate change; construction detect; over exploitation of resources etc.
A deep well in area with minimal pumping is less likely to go dry than less shallow. So as the given case both Bob and Glen have equal role to play to conserve ground water.
There are some methods to be used in conservation of ground water-
1)Rain water harvesting
2) Minimal pumping of waters
3) Advanced technology like drip irrigation to be used to conserve water etc.
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