Question

Eli is the owner of a small commercial farm located in Washington (the state). For the past twenty years, Eli’s farm has relied on water drawn from a lake located three miles away. Each day, Eli (or one of Eli’s employees) would take a truck to the lake and fill-up large tanks with its water. The water would then be driven back to the farm to be used to water the crops. One day, a developer bought a large plot of land adjacent to the lake. This developer intends to construct fifty luxury homes on this plot of land, and they plan to draw water from the lake to fillup the dozens of new swimming pools that will soon be constructed. As a result, there will not be enough water in the lake for Eli to use for his farm. If Eli files a lawsuit to limit the amount of water that the developer can draw from the lake, is Eli likely to succeed? Briefly explain your answer.

Answer 1

Lake is not only source of water but it is also an ecosystem for many biotic & abiotic components. In the given case if developer draw water from the lake for filling of swimming pools then it will reduce the water level drastically which will lead to loss of Eli's farming as well as priceless ecosystem of the lake. From the environment point of view it is quite probable that Eli would succeed if he files the lawsuit to limit the use of water by the developer because it will be gain for all Eli, developer & more importantly for the environment.