Curtailment
The administrative shutoff of junior water rights so that senior rights can be satisfied during shortage.
Curtailment is the consequence of a call. Junior users are ordered to stop diverting, in reverse priority order, and the order is enforced by the state. For an irrigator it can mean a lost crop; for an industrial user it can mean a shutdown.
Curtailment risk is a function of seniority and supply together. A mid-seniority right in a basin with strong storage and good snowpack may never be curtailed; the same right in an over-appropriated basin during a multi-year drought may be curtailed most years.
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