The Politics of Water
Living in a city bisected by rivers and drenched with more than 40 inches of rain a year, it’s easy for Portlanders to take water for granted — but doing so would be a mistake. Oregon as a whole is more dry than wet, and long before the Columbia River runs through Portland, it travels through the arid landscapes of northeastern Oregon. Agricultural, industrial and environmental groups have waged battle during the last two state legislative sessions over how much water to withdraw from Oregon’s rivers.
On December 3, Janet Neuman will disucss where and how Portland gets its water – and the impact this has on Oregon’s agriculture, land-use planning and environmental protection efforts. She will also outline how the politics of water affect economic development across the state, nation and globe.
Janet Neuman is Professor of Law at Lewis and Clark Law School. She joined their faculty in 1992 after serving as the director of the Oregon Department of State Lands. She also serves as Senior Counsel to the law firm of Tonkon Torp LLP, with an emphasis on water law.
