The Law of Capture, as It Pertains to Water Policy

question 48

Multiple Choice

The law of capture, as it pertains to water policy in Texas, essentially means that

• A) the state owns the water rights because it is sovereign over Texas residents.
• B) the federal government has the right to capture water in Texas because of the supremacy clause in the federal Constitution.
• C) the first person to capture the water by pumping it out of the ground owns it.
• D) the state can capture and tax any business that uses state water without reporting usage statistics to the state water board.

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Definitions:

Independent Variable

A variable in an experiment or model that is manipulated or changed to observe its effects on a dependent variable.

Seasonal Index

A numerical value or coefficient that adjusts data for seasonal variations, making trends clearer over time.

Monthly Series

A sequence of data points or observations recorded or collected monthly, often used in economic, financial, or performance analysis.

Smoothing Constant

The weighting factor, α, used in an exponential smoothing forecast, a number between 0 and 1.