The Public Trust and In-stream Uses

The public trust doctrine, an ancient but newly revived common law remedy, can prevent the continued destruction of public waters. This Article takes an historical overview of the doctrine as it applies to nonnavigable waters, focusing on the California cases involving Mono Lake, the Lower American River, and Putah Creek. The author concludes that public trust considerations were intertwined with the appropriative water rights system long before the 1983 Mono Lake decision. Furthermore, the public trust doctrine will continue to impact future water decisions in California, with potentially significant impacts on California’s Colorado River water supply.