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 Decision 1485: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | August 16th, 1978

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.

Water Risk Hotspots for Agriculture: The Case of the Southwest United States

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) | July 14th, 2016

The Southwest United States – defined here as Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah – is a rapidly growing region that faces major water challe

The Southwest United States – defined here as Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah – is a rapidly growing region that faces major water challenges. It has the fastest growing population and one of the most economically productive regions of the United States. It is also the most arid region and is prone to long-term droughts. These dry conditions, combined with a water allocation system based on prior appropriation — whereby the “first in time” is the “first in line” to access water — generate tension between stable or declining sectors of the economy that hold the majority of the rights to water and the fast-growing sectors of the economy that have more limited water rights. The Southwest provides a case study of the challenges posed by limited water availability and some of the successful methods used to bridge the gap between water supply and demand.

Water scarcity and fish imperilment driven by beef production

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | March 2nd, 2020

Human consumption of freshwater is now approaching or surpassing the rate at which water sources are being naturally replenished in many regions, creating water s

Human consumption of freshwater is now approaching or surpassing the rate at which water sources are being naturally replenished in many regions, creating water shortage risks for people and ecosystems. Here we assess the impact of human water uses and their connection to water scarcity and ecological damage across the United States, identify primary causes of river dewatering and explore ways to ameliorate them. We find irrigation of cattle-feed crops to be the greatest consumer of river water in the western United States, implicating beef and dairy consumption as the leading driver of water shortages and fish imperilment in the region. We assess opportunities for alleviating water scarcity by reducing cattle-feed production, finding that temporary, rotational fallowing of irrigated feed crops can markedly reduce water shortage risks and improve ecological sustainability. Long-term water security and river ecosystem health will ultimately require Americans to consume less beef that depends on irrigated feed crops.

Water Service Disconnections in California

Pacific Institute | October 1st, 2018

When a household fails to pay their water bill in full for more than a given period of time – one or two months – their water service can be disconnected. In

When a household fails to pay their water bill in full for more than a given period of time – one or two months – their water service can be disconnected. In addition to the original utility bills, additional fees are accrued at each step, from the first late payment through restoration of service. Households that struggle to pay their water bills on time can face serious financial challenges to maintain or restore water service. Lack of water in the home compromises the ability of people to wash their hands, clean their home, and safely prepare food. Water disconnections are associated with a higher rate of water-borne diseases in the community, and disconnected water renders housing legally uninhabitable and untenantable.1,2 As such, water disconnections are a serious concern for public health and housing security.

Water shortage risks from perennial crop expansion in California's Central Valley

Environmental Research Letters (IOP) | October 15th, 2019

California's Central Valley is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. Its high-value fruit, vegetable, and nut crops rely on surface water imports from

California's Central Valley is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. Its high-value fruit, vegetable, and nut crops rely on surface water imports from a vast network of reservoirs and canals as well as groundwater, which has been substantially overdrafted to support irrigation. The region has undergone a shift to perennial (tree and vine) crops in recent decades, which has increased water demand amid a series of severe droughts and emerging regulations on groundwater pumping. This study quantifies the expansion of perennial crops in the Tulare Lake Basin, the southern region of the Central Valley with limited natural water availability. A gridded crop type dataset is compiled on a 1 mi2 spatial resolution from a historical database of pesticide permits over the period 1974–2016 and validated against aggregated county-level data. This spatial dataset is then analyzed by irrigation district, the primary spatial scale at which surface water supplies are determined, to identify trends in planting decisions and agricultural water demand over time. Perennial crop acreage has nearly tripled over this period, and currently accounts for roughly 60% of planted area and 80% of annual revenue. These trends show little relationship with water availability and have been driven primarily by market demand. From this data, we focus on the increasing minimum irrigation needs each year to sustain perennial crops. Results indicate that under a range of plausible future regulations on groundwater pumping ranging from 10% to 50%, water supplies may fail to consistently meet demands, increasing losses by up to 30% of annual revenues. More broadly, the datasets developed in this work will support the development of dynamic models of the integrated water-agriculture system under uncertain climate and regulatory changes to understand the combined impacts of water supply shortages and intensifying irrigation demand.

Water shortage risks from perennial crop expansion in California’s Central Valley

Environmental Research Letters (IOP) | October 15th, 2019

California’s Central Valley is one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions. Its high-value fruit, vegetable, and nut crops rely on surface water imports

California’s Central Valley is one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions. Its high-value fruit, vegetable, and nut crops rely on surface water imports from a vast network of reservoirs and canals as well as groundwater, which has been substantially overdrafted to support irrigation. The region has undergone a shift to perennial (tree and vine) crops in recent decades, which has increased water demand amid a series of severe droughts and emerging regulations on groundwater pumping. This study quantifies the expansion of perennial crops in the Tulare Lake Basin, the southern region of the Central Valley with limited natural water availability. A gridded crop type dataset is compiled on a 1-square mile spatial resolution from a historical database of pesticide permits over the period 1974–2016 and validated against aggregated county-level data. This spatial dataset is then analyzed by irrigation district, the primary spatial scale at which surface water supplies are determined, to identify trends in planting decisions and agricultural water demand over time. Perennial crop acreage has nearly tripled over this period, and currently accounts for roughly 60% of planted area and 80% of annual revenue. These trends show little relationship with water availability and have been driven primarily by market demand. From this data, we focus on the increasing minimum irrigation needs each year to sustain perennial crops. Results indicate that under a range of plausible future regulations on groundwater pumping ranging from 10% to 50%, water supplies may fail to consistently meet demands, increasing losses by up to 30% of annual revenues. More broadly, the datasets developed in this work will support the development of dynamic models of the integrated water-agriculture system under uncertain climate and regulatory changes to understand the combined impacts of water supply shortages and intensifying irrigation demand.

Water shortages worsened by reservoir effects

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | November 13th, 2018

The expansion of reservoirs to cope with droughts and water shortages is hotly debated in many places around the world. We argue that there are two counterintuiti

The expansion of reservoirs to cope with droughts and water shortages is hotly debated in many places around the world. We argue that there are two counterintuitive dynamics that should be considered in this debate: supply–demand cycles and reservoir effects. Supply–demand cycles describe instances where increasing water supply enables higher water demand, which can quickly offset the initial benefits of reservoirs. Reservoir effects refer to cases where over-reliance on reservoirs increases vulnerability, and therefore increases the potential damage caused by droughts. Here we illustrate these counterintuitive dynamics with global and local examples, and discuss policy and research implications.