Under this system, users cannot sell their rights to more valuable uses. Riparian rights are based on ownership of the land adjacent to or underneath the body of water. In this case, water rights cannot be transferred to users outside the watershed. The upshot is that both systems inhibit the transfer of water rights to their most highly valued uses. Water removal that results in ecological damage.
Water is used and then returned to the hydrological cycle with wastes or contaminants.
Wastes are deposited directly into water ways, or find their way into water resources indirectly. V. U.S. Policy Toward Water Pollution A. Primary focus has been on point sources of water pollution such as municipal sewage. Nonpoint sources and toxic pollutants continue to present major problems. Federal policy has focussed on point sources. Subsidies have been used to support increased treatment of municipal sewer wastes.