Each year, the Texas A & M Journal of Property Law publishes a symposium on some aspect of dirt law.
This year, the subject is “Day Zero: How Cities Run Out of Water.”
Here’s the program description:
This symposium is centered around Professor Rhett Larson’s (Arizona State University) forthcoming book, Day Zero: How Cities Run Out of Water (Cambridge University Press).
For many people around the world today, “Day Zero” refers to the day a city runs out of water. Cities across the globe have faced a Day Zero Crisis: Cape Town, South Africa; Chennai, India; and Mexico City, Mexico. The experience of potentially confronting Day Zero has given rise to prophets of doom, heroic reformers, complacency and overreaction, propaganda to frighten and mollify, false starts, and stagnant failures.
In this symposium, legal experts from across the country will explore how these and other cities experience Day Zero crises. They will dissect the myriad factors at play, such as population growth, climate change, aging infrastructure, water rights, land use, technological innovation, and economic development. Additionally, local experts will share their insights on how these factors impact Texas, providing applicable takeaways for our home state.
Ultimately, this symposium will help us better understand how water crises arise—and how they can be prevented. By evaluating a complex array of interwoven factors, the experts will draw invaluable lessons for cities confronting water vulnerability, offer recommendations for water policy reform, and chart a path forward for protecting our most precious resource.
The symposium will be at the law school on February 6, 2025. We’re not quite sure whether you register ahead of time or just show up (the website does not have a registration link).
Past editions of the symposium have been on some fantastic topics, and this one looks to continue the tradition.