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Harmonized Database of Western U.S. Water Rights (HarDWR) v.1

Journal Article · · Scientific Data
Abstract

In the arid and semi-arid Western U.S., access to water is regulated through a legal system of water rights. Individuals, companies, organizations, municipalities, and tribal entities have documents that declare their water rights. State water regulatory agencies collate and maintain these records, which can be used in legal disputes over access to water. While these records are publicly available data in all Western U.S. states, the data have not yet been readily available in digital form from all states. Furthermore, there are many differences in data format, terminology, and definitions between state water regulatory agencies. Here, we have collected water rights data from 11 Western U.S. state agencies, harmonized terminology and use definitions, formatted them for consistency, and tied them to a Western U.S.-wide shapefile of water administrative boundaries.

Research Organization:
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States); University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States); University of Texas at Austin, TX (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0005171; SC0016162; SC0022141
OSTI ID:
2371056
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2370968
Journal Information:
Scientific Data, Journal Name: Scientific Data Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 11; ISSN 2052-4463
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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HarDWR - Harmonized Water Rights Records dataset January 2023
HarDWR - Cumulative Water Rights Curves dataset January 2023

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