Water policy in U.S. is one of the most complex topics in the field of public policy. This book provides for the first time a common framework for analysis to investigate how water scarcity and droughts have interacted with various state-level factors to produce a wide degree of variance in policy innovations.

Jonathan D. Farley is a contract simulator instructor at Naval Air Station Meridian, MS. He retired from active duty in the United States Navy after a 20-year career as an F/A-18 pilot. His research interests include environmental management and international resource conflict. He has published on water conflict in Asia and future military concepts, such as multi-domain operations. He previously served as an instructor at the Air Command and Staff College located at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL. In addition to his role as an instructor, he was a guest lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, German Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, and the NATO School Oberammergau.

Jonathan M. Fisk is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University. He has published nearly two dozen single/co-authored articles/book chapters in journals including the American Review of Public Administration; Energy Policy; State and Local Government Review; Risk, Hazards, and Crises in Public Policy; Public Integrity; Society and Natural Resources; Politics and Policy; and Review of Policy Research. He has worked on grants from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

John C. Morris is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University. He has studied environmental policy and water policy for more than 30 years and published widely on public administration and public policy. He is the author/coauthor/editor of 12 books, more than 85 scholarly articles, and more than 40 book chapters and reports.

List of Figures. List of Tables. Acknowledgments. List of Abbreviations. 1. State Policy and Droughts 2. A Theory of State Drought Policy 3. Texas: Scarcity and Cooperation 4. California: A Battle over Historic Water Rights 5. Alabama: Benign Neglect 6. An Analysis of the Three Cases 7. Conclusions and Future Directions Appendix: Interview Protocol