Five Things to Consider When Developing and Adapting Water Policies and Programs in the West

This guidebook identifies common factors that influence the success of water policies or programs in the prior appropriation context, and provides examples of each factor to further clarify the issue. The guidebook is intended to help decision-makers at the state and local levels develop new policies and programs that are best tailored to navigate potential obstacles to achieving the desired outcomes. It also is intended to serve as an aid for reviewing successful policies and programs elsewhere to determine whether conditions in a new location are sufficiently similar to those of the original location to replicate the results.