With increasing extremes and unpredictability , water rights and allocation mechanisms are an area that will require serious review by policy makers and water managers. Water rights and allocations are generally premised upon historical water availability . As climate change causes future water availability to diverge from the past, the resource may no longer be able to conform to its agreed distribution. Past rights and mechanisms may no longer be viable. Systems of water rights, allocation and conflict resolution mechanisms will need to be put in place or strengthened to deal with these new realities. Flexible systems will need to be developed to respond to extremes of water availability and unpredictability