Zach Smith is a litigation associate in O’Melveny’s Newport Beach office, where he solves challenging water supply and management problems. Zach represents clients in surface and groundwater litigation, as well as in transactional and regulatory matters: water right assessments, water transfers, water banking, and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Reclamation Reform Act.
Before moving to California, Zach served as the Staff Attorney of the Colorado Water Trust, where he helped design and scale Colorado’s environmental water rights market in collaboration with Colorado’s water users.
He is currently a member of the University of Denver Water Law Review’s advisory board, the leadership board of Water UCI, and has taught agricultural water resources at Cal Poly Pomona’s Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture.
- Las Posas Water Rights Coalition v. Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency. Representing a coalition of large landowners in a comprehensive groundwater basin adjudication under California’s new statutory adjudication scheme.
- Petitions to Revoke or Revise the Status of the Kings River System on the Fully Appropriated Stream System Declaration. Representing a large landowner in a State Water Board assessment of available water on the Kings River.
- Advised multiple landowners in development of water supplies and conjunctive use strategies.
- Developed comprehensive assessment of water rights and supply opportunities for large ranch in Southern California.
- Advised landowners on market-based approaches to river restoration.
- Represented nonprofit in securing contractual right to available hydropower capacity at an off-channel Colorado River facility.
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
- Colorado
Education
- University of Denver College of Law, J.D.
- Washington University in St. Louis, B.A., History, Earth and Planetary Sciences Minor
Honors & Awards
- 2018 City of Steamboat Springs Proclamation Recipient
- 2017 Award for Innovation from the Southern Colorado Conservation Awards
- 2012 El Pomar Foundation Award of Excellence in Environmental Issues
Professional Activities
Publications
- Standardizing Temporary Water Transfer Procedures in Colorado, U. Denv. Water L. Rev. (2019)
- Refining Streamflow Restoration Approaches with Agriculture, The Water Report #179 (2019)
- Ethical Issues for Water Lawyers: Dealing with Parties Who Are Unrepresented or Have Limited Representation, 22 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 25 (2018)
- Making Colorado’s Rivers a (Senior) Priority, 20 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 369 (2017)
- Instream Flow Leasing in Colorado, The Water Report #121 (2014)
Member
- Water UCI Leadership Board
Speaker
- “Harmonizing Adjudications and SGMA Compliance,” California Water Law & Policy Conference (October 2024)