Race to the Bottom: How Equitable Apportionment Could Encourage Overdrafting of Aquifers

Groundwater is a vital source of water for drinking and irrigation in the United States. However, it was unclear what legal doctrine would apply to apporting interstate groundwater between the states. This changed in Mississippi v. Tennessee, when the Supreme Court ruled that equitable apportionment would the controlling doctrine. The Court though declined to clarify how the doctrine would be applied to groundwater.

This Note discusses how equitable apportionment has historically been applied to rivers and hypothesizes how the Court may apply equitable apportionment to groundwater.