Irrigation in Portugal’s Douro Valley Why Douro Valley Winegrowers Must Obtain Irrigation Authorization Before Watering Vineyards The vineyards of Portugal’s Douro Valley are among the most regulated and historically significant wine-producing areas in the world. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) oversees the production of Port and Douro wines. It regulates
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Idaho Water Management Challenges Take Center Stage at IWUA’s 89th Annual Convention The 89th Annual Convention of the Idaho Water Users Association (IWUA) brought more than 200 water leaders to Boise January 21–22, 2026. There were two days of policy updates, technical briefings, and forward-looking discussions about the most pressing Idaho water management challenges. This
Idaho water management challenges Read More »
How a water lawyer thinks about using water on a sailboat….. Using water aboard a sailboat demands thoughtful stewardship. It’s not just for the crew’s comfort, but as a microcosm of the larger challenges in water law and rights. On deck, with a fill port labeled “WATER” and a hose snaking in, the process may
Water on a Sailboat Read More »
Can I Use My Spring in Oregon Without A Water Right of Use? Oregon Water Resources Department’s (“OWRD”) is ratcheting down on new applications for surface and groundwater sources. Consequently, Oregonians are looking at those uses exempt from water righting by OWRD. Different exemptions apply whether the use is considered surface or groundwater. So what
Water Rights for Springs Read More »
Wildfires and Drinking Water Flavor: Insights from the Wine Industry Oregon debates how to fund wildfire prevention and response. Legislation that would repeal Oregon’s controversial statewide Wildfire Hazard Map sits in the Oregon House. Republicans, Democrats, and the Oregon Governor negotiate. Oregon had a record 1.9 million acres of its 61.6 million acres burn in
Drinking Water Flavor Read More »
TAXING FARMERS BASED ON WATER AVAILABILITY Attorney Laura Schroeder recently returned from Egypt. She shares in this article the use of nilometers in ancient Egypt that offers a fascinating intersection of law, administration, and environmental science. These devices were pivotal in determining tax rates based on the annual flooding of the Nile River, highlighting the
Nilometer: A Key Water Guage in Egypt Read More »
As the writer at the Federal Reserve Bank commented in his article Are Water Resources Keeping Up with U.S. Economic Needs? – San Francisco Fed water is not something we can transport from a water rich area to a water poor one. While the research studies cited in the article advise that the United States
Are Water Resources Keeping Up? Read More »
We are pleased to share an article from the wellcare Well Owners Network published by an organization that provides free resource to domestic well owners, the Water Systems Council: www.watersystemscouncil.org.
Well Owners Network: National Radon Action Month Read More »
In a boundary dispute, we require the services of surveyors to locate property lines, especially if the descriptions involve very difficult to interpret descriptions in chains.
The History Behind Surveyor’s Chains Read More »
This weekend my brother Paul explained how he had successfully used Facebook Marketplace to sell extra furniture. Wow, I thought, this is a great resource. But then a potential client called today. The potential client posted For Sale by Owner on Facebook Marketplace without legal advice. The problem was NOT with the platform, but with
Stormwater and Water Delivery: Should I welcome stormwater into my water delivery system? With so much drought, suppliers and golf courses look everywhere for precious water. They need to augment the dwindling water supply. And they look to storm water as a solution. But should they? Sediments, human and animal waste, fertilizers, and street oils
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Schroeder Law Offices plays some serious water games, and so should you! Serious gaming is an emerging tool in negotiation, mediation, and water conflict. Serious water gaming acts is a way to share knowledge, interact in an engaging way, and build capacity to solve the real problems in water resources. The games allow for
Schroeder Law Offices Plays Serious Water Games Read More »
By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity. Two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed regions where is there a water security risk. This issue is no longer relegated to the developing world! We as water lawyers practicing throughout the Western United States are developing
Water Security Risk Read More »
The Sacramento Superior Court of California on July 10, 2015, granted a TRO temporarily restraining the California State Water Resources Control Board’s drought curtailment action against certain senior water rights holders. The court held that the Board’s action violates due process rights and would cause irreparable harm. On May 1, 2015 and June 12, 2015 the California State
Restraining Order Halts Drought Curtailment Read More »
By: Laura Schroeder and Derek Bradley Despite being a landlocked country with an arid climate Afghanistan possesses a surprising number of fresh water surface sources thanks to snowpack originating in its mountainous terrain. While the country has several freshwater sources contained within it (namely the Northern water basin) all four of the country’s largest river
Afghanistan’s Transboundary Waters Read More »
The plane landed on time Saturday in Portland. Nevertheless, I definitely experienced “bobble head” on the almost 6 hour flight from DC to Portland! Whew! Spring arrived while I was in Aghanistan, but it is unseasonably dry here. The Willamette River in front of our house is lower than usual. This eastern Oregon girl, won’t complain though
Left the EQUALS Compound for the Kabul Airport at 3 pm Friday (approx 3 am Friday in Portland, Oregon) with the EQUALS security contractor PILGRIMS including our driver, armed security, and unarmed Afghan airport liasion. When I was getting in the vehicle at the Compound, I was instructed to stay in the vehicle unless directed to leave it. I was also given special
Door to Door: 41 Hours and Lots of Security! Read More »
I presented the recommendations of the Governance training participants to the Technical Secretariat today in Kabul. Afghan’s Technical Secretariat for the Water Sector is made of the following representatives: •MEW-Ministry of Energy & Water •MAIL-Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock •MRRD-Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development •NEPA-National Environmental Protection Agency •MUDA-Ministry of Urban Development Affairs •AWSSC-Afghanistan
Technical Secretariat Read More »
Tomorrow will be my last day of the Governance training here in Kabul with class ending about 11 am. I will provide about a half hour of feed back to the Technical Secretariat at 2 pm. The Technical Secretariat consists of all the in-line water ministries so will give me a chance to interact with
After work today, I headed with Glen to Spinney’s, which is the super market adjacent to the Compound, to purchase an Arabic calendar. We are not required to take a security guard with us, but they are posted all along the route and radio each other to follow us on the short walk. The Persian New
March 21- Persian New Year Read More »
