Professor Frank Comments on California Water Rights for KQED

Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank ’74 commented for Northern California public radio station KQED on the nature of water rights in California as part of a report on how such rights may be challenged as climate change makes drought conditions more frequent.

Water rights are “a limited kind of property right, which is something that is lost on a lot of people in the ongoing California debate on water,” said Frank. “The courts have long held that water is owned by the public, and that is also embedded in California statutes.”

The state “can limit, ban, and penalize unreasonable uses of water,” Frank said.

Frank 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.