By Rhett B. Larson.
The United States of America has a “national obligation” to its southern and downstream neighbor, Mexico, to share the Colorado River. This obligation was created by the 1944 Rivers Treaty and incorporated into domestic law in the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act. This article argues that the “national obligation” language is more than a rhetorical flourish, but is a substantive reordering of the Law of the River, creating responsibilities and opportunities for the U.S. federal government and the seven states that share the Colorado River.