The Comparative Groundwater Law and Policy Workshop

The Comparative Groundwater Law and Policy Workshop will examine the best practices in law and policy for integrated groundwater management in the U.S. and Australia. The workshop is part of a broader Comparative Groundwater Law and Policy Program, sponsored by the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University and the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

Over the next three years, the Program will produce a series of reports and recommendations on laws and policies for integrated groundwater management.  This inaugural Workshop will be held at Stanford University, October 16-19, 2011. This event will bring together a small, select group of groundwater managers and experts from the U.S. and Australia to share experiences and practical lessons in integrated groundwater management.

Approximately forty leading members of the Australian and United States governments and NGO, corporate, and academic communities have been invited to bring unique expertise, insights and perspectives to the workshop. Through a series of presentations and discussions, the workshop will:
•    Examine what we know about integrated groundwater management across the U.S. and Australia (and what we still need to learn);
•    Present case studies on how key states deal with links between surface water and groundwater, and disputes that arise due to these links;
•    Highlight new techniques for improving aquifer recharge and identifying and mapping groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and investigate their policy implications; and
•    Help shape the research for the Comparative Groundwater Law and Policy Program to ensure that it is responsive to decision makers’ needs.

For more information about the program, please contact Rebecca Nelson.