Water Allocation in California - Legal Rights and Reform Needs

Golden Gate University (GSU) | March 31st, 1982

FOREWARD: Water supply, allocation, use and conservation are constantly debated in California, often appearing as highly charged political issues in candidates' races and

FOREWARD: Water supply, allocation, use and conservation are constantly debated in California, often appearing as highly charged political issues in candidates' races and on election ballots. This year is no exception, with major ballot propositions already scheduled for the June primary election and being circulated to qualify for the November general election. Accordingly this Research Paper on legal aspects of water allocation is being published for the valuable background it affords readers wishing to learn more about the subject. The author draws on his legal expertise, as well as his experience as Staff Director of the Governor's Commission to Review California Water Rights Law. The paper emphasizes the crucial role of water rights in California water management, and it points to the need for and present lack of a political consensus on water law reform. The author concludes by suggesting forces that could bring about interest-group realignments and other developments favorable to achieving the needed consensus on water law and management reform that so far has eluded Californians. Stanley Scott Assistant Director Institute of Governmental Studies March 1982

Water Allocation, Use, and Regulation in California

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 30th, 2014

In California, water use and supplies are controlled and managed under an intricate system of common law principles, constitutional provisions, State and federal statutes

In California, water use and supplies are controlled and managed under an intricate system of common law principles, constitutional provisions, State and federal statutes, court decisions, and contracts or agreements. All of these components constitute the institutional framework for the protection of public interests and their balance with private claims in California’s water allocation and management.

Water Right Compliance and Enforcement in the Delta

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | April 5th, 2012

The report focuses on the State Water Board’s responsibility to enforce water rights and to prevent unauthorized diversions of water in the state of California. Purs

The report focuses on the State Water Board’s responsibility to enforce water rights and to prevent unauthorized diversions of water in the state of California. Pursuant to the Water Code, the State Water Board is responsible for enforcing the terms and conditions of water right permits, licenses, and registrations, as well as investigating diversions of water. As addressed in the Strategic Workplan for Activities in the San Francisco Bay / Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary, the State Water Board is directed to investigate illegal diversions and violations of permit and license conditions and take action when violations are occurring in the Bay-Delta Watershed. The report discusses how the State Water Board began an investigation of illegal diversions of water, focusing on the Delta. For instance, the State Water Board has investigated two islands in the Delta to establish whether the landowners possessed any water rights. Most did, though some individuals were subject to more review, the majority of which concerned validating riparian claims for severed parcels. The report notes that the State Water Board has also investigated diverters within an area of the southern Delta and resolved all cases resulting from that investigation. The report also discusses how the State Water Board has begun an investigation of water diverters, statewide, who have failed to file required reports, which include the annual reports for permit and license holders, and the supplemental statements. Finally, the report suggests a new approach of looking at districts in the Delta who serve water to individuals, in addition to looking at compliance issues related to individual diverters.

Water Right Exactions

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) | May 15th, 2023

Water Rights Decision 1641 (D-1641)

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 29th, 1999

This decision is part of the SWRCB’s implementation of the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan. Many of the objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan are best implemented by making changes

This decision is part of the SWRCB’s implementation of the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan. Many of the objectives in the 1995 Bay-Delta Plan are best implemented by making changes in the flow of water or in the operation of facilities that move water. Accordingly, this decision amends certain water rights by assigning responsibilities to the persons or entities holding those rights to help meet the objectives.

We Don't Do Groundwater: A Morsel of California Legal History

Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository | January 1st, 2002

It must seem surprising to people elsewhere that California, unlike other western states, continues to treat surface water and groundwater under separate and distinct leg

It must seem surprising to people elsewhere that California, unlike other western states, continues to treat surface water and groundwater under separate and distinct legal regimes, even though everyone today acknowledges that water comprises a continuum through which the water moves wherever gravity takes it.  Moreover, whatever "mystery" there once was about the movement of water underground, and that induced lawmakers and treatise writers to eschew efforts to regulate groundwater, is no longer a hindrance to modern management, as most states have acknowledged. What, then, explains California's failure to bring its water law into line with contemporary knowledge, and with scientific reality? The answer (actually there are two answers) is not very mysterious.

When is Groundwater Recharge a Beneficial Use of Surface Water?

University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) | August 1st, 2018

Any diversion and use of surface water in California requires a water right. Today, to receive a new water right permit, an entity that wants to appropriate surface water

Any diversion and use of surface water in California requires a water right. Today, to receive a new water right permit, an entity that wants to appropriate surface water must file an application with the Board. The Board may only approve an application if it determines that the proposed use of the water is for a reasonable and beneficial purpose. Currently, there is uncertainty about whether—and, if so, under what circumstances—the Board will consider groundwater recharge to be a beneficial use of water. California law makes clear that the act of recharging groundwater, alone, is not a beneficial use of water. Instead, the specific purpose of the recharge is key.

Who makes decisions about California's water?

Restore the Delta | January 9th, 2023

This project collected and created data on California's water managers at the state, local and individual level to determine their race and gender. At the State level, we

This project collected and created data on California's water managers at the state, local and individual level to determine their race and gender. At the State level, we used the State Workforce Analysis to examine the race and gender of water-related state executives. At the local level, we coded about 1500 directors of water agencies for race and gender and then compared each board to the race and gender of the agency service areas. At the individual level, we coded nearly 14,000 individual rights holders for race. The results were not surprising. At every level, the people who make decisions about California's water are more white and more male than the population of California. At the local agency level, boards of directors are 86% White and 79% male. At the individual level, 91% of small named water rights holders have last names that code as White.

Wright et al v. Goleta Water District

Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara | November 17th, 1989