Water Rights and Water Quality Investigations

Documenting the allocation of water rights and tracing the industrial development of river basins, waterways, and harbors are crucial to identifying potentially responsible parties in environmental cost recovery actions and supporting other environmental litigation matters.

In one western river basin project HAI identified and collected documents scattered among federal, state, and local archives as well as libraries and government offices. Our research made possible the reconstruction of complex negotiations over water rights that took place during a forty-year period. HAI's report, which drew on thousands of documents, clarified the terms of an agreement that became central to ongoing litigation. Gabriele Carey, the Director of the Western Area Office, backed up this work by serving as an expert witness in the case.

In other investigations HAI has traced the development of complex ocean outfall sanitation systems, gathered historical agricultural runoff, river flow, and water quality data, and uncovered evidence from contemporary literature that successfully established the historical baseline condition of rivers and harbors and documented changes over time.

Note: Although the confidential nature of our work precludes detailed descriptions of specific projects, we will be happy to provide relevant references upon request.