Professor Frank Comments on California Water Regulation for Daily Journal  

Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank commented for the San Francisco Daily Journal on a UC Davis report showing that water rights holders in California hold rights to five times as much water as flows in the state's rivers. 

Although over-allocation is not a serious problem during years when water is plentiful, "with increased drought and climate change ... these problems will become more and more real," Frank said. Frank said that it would be helpful if the Legislature would make more explicit the State Water Resources Control Board's authority to mediate demands on California's water supply.  Although the Board has the legal authority to do so, its decisions are often challenged in court, resulting in lengthy and expensive litigation, Frank said.

Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is a leader in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.