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A Practitioner’s Guide to Instream Flow Transactions in California

The purpose of this guide is to help water right holders –and those assisting them – understand their options for keeping water instream in California.

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A Practitioner’s Guide to Instream Flow Transactions in California
SWIFT Working Group, American Rivers, Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, Scott River Water Trust, River Right, Alford Environmental | March 1, 2016...
Summary
The purpose of this guide is to help water right holders –and those assisting them – understand their options for keeping water instream...

The purpose of this guide is to help water right holders –and those assisting them – understand their options for keeping water instream in California. This guide briefly describes some of the most common types of instream flow transactions (i.e., methods for restoring flow for environmental purposes), and discusses in detail how to navigate the process of completing an instream flow dedication by changing a water right, as permitted by Water Code Section 1707.

The intended audience for this document includes both water rights holders and practitioners, such as staff for land trusts, water trusts, Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), and other organizations. This guide focuses on instream dedications via the change petition process administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). Other publications – for example, the Trust for Public Land’s Water Acquisition Handbook (2003) – provide a more general overview of acquiring water for environmental purposes in California. This guide will provide a description of the change petition process, and offer advice on how to navigate, troubleshoot, and work in partnership with the State Water Board and other natural resource agencies to complete an instream flow dedication.

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Background and Recent History of Water Transfers in California

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Background and Recent History of Water Transfers in California
California Department of Water Resources (DWR), State Water Resources Control Board | July 1, 2015...
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to provide a basic understanding of water transfers in California with an emphasis on transfers that move...

The purpose of this paper is to provide a basic understanding of water transfers in California with an emphasis on transfers that move water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). This paper provides an overview of various types of water transfers, their recent history, and the regulatory setting that governs transfers.

In its 1976 report, the Governor’s Commission on Water Rights recognized the importance of water transfers to the future of California’s water supply and made recommendations regarding the need for specific changes to the Water Code to facilitate the transfer of water. Many of these changes were accomplished in the following years and are reflected in the discussions below.

Water transfers involve a change in the place of water use, from the water’s historic point of diversion and use, to a new location either within or outside the watershed of origin. Water may be transferred from one user to another for a variety of purposes, including agricultural, municipal and industrial uses. It may also be transferred for environmental purposes such as in-stream flow augmentation and wildlife refuges. Water transfers and exchanges can be temporary (up to one year) or long-term (more than one year, but not permanent) or permanent.

Water transfers can be an effective water management tool providing much-needed flexibility in the allocation and use of water in California. Transfers in California are primarily executed to meet dry-year demands rather than to obtain a primary water supply for either agricultural or municipal development. Transfers are particularly useful for meeting critical needs during drought periods. Transfers, however, must be carried out in a responsible manner in order to assure that they do not result in adverse impacts to other water users or unreasonable effects to the environment.

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Basin Framework for a Multi-benefit Groundwater Replenishment and Water Trading Program: Groundwater Sustainability Plan Chapter Template

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Basin Framework for a Multi-benefit Groundwater Replenishment and Water Trading Program: Groundwater Sustainability Plan Chapter Template
Environmental Defense Fund | October 1, 2018...
Summary
The following Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) chapter templates were developed by Environmental Defense Fund and New Current Water and Land, LLC to assist...
The following Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) chapter templates were developed by Environmental Defense Fund and New Current Water and Land, LLC to assist Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) with incorporating multi-benefit replenishment and water trading mechanisms into GSPs. These chapter templates provide an initial framework that can be adapted to reflect regional conditions and objectives.

Achieving groundwater sustainability in many overdrafted basins is contingent upon collaboration between landowners/pumpers/operators (“operators”) and GSAs to replenish groundwater. Chapter [X] Multi-Benefit Groundwater Replenishment outlines mechanisms to encourage and incentivize operator engagement in groundwater replenishment projects, with opportunities to pair these efforts with community and natural resource values, such as habitat creation and improved drinking water quality.

When properly designed, groundwater trading programs can assist in efficient allocation of scarce resources, while avoiding negative third party impacts. Chapter [Y]: Water Trading provides a framework for implementation of groundwater trading programs as a groundwater management mechanism. Appendix A. outlines qualifying conditions that allow for streamlined approval of water trades.

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California’s First Farmer-Led Groundwater Market

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California’s First Farmer-Led Groundwater Market
The Nature Conservancy | July 12, 2018...
Summary
Ventura County, located in California’s south coast, is one of United States’ most productive agricultural counties (ranked 10th in California and 11th in the...

Ventura County, located in California’s south coast, is one of United States’ most productive agricultural counties (ranked 10th in California and 11th in the US)1, with agricultural production valued at $2.1B in 2016.2 California’s landmark groundwater law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), requires that 127 groundwater basins, including those in Ventura County, develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans that ensure pumping within sustainable limits. In western Ventura County, where over 70 percent of groundwater use is agricultural, the California Department of Water Resources has designated two groundwater basins as being in critical overdraft under SGMA.

The local management agency may have to reduce groundwater use in these basins by as much as 40 percent to achieve a sustainable yield. While these reductions are critical to achieving long-term sustainability of water use, which includes nature’s needs, they also pose significant challenges to wisely managing reduced water allocations to keep irrigated agricultural land in production. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has a vested interest in preserving farming in the county because it buffers important river and wetland habitat from nearby urban lands.

Growers in the region quickly identified water markets as an important tool for managing limited groundwater resources.

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California’s Water Market, By the Numbers
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California’s Water Market, By the Numbers
Public Policy Institute of California | October 17, 2002...
Summary
Prepared for presentation to the Department of Water Resources, October 2002.
Prepared for presentation to the Department of Water Resources, October 2002.

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California’s Water Market, By the Numbers, Update 2012
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California’s Water Market, By the Numbers, Update 2012
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | November 21, 2012...
Summary
This report provides a check-up on California’s progress with two innovative water management tools: water marketing and groundwater banking. These tools are part...

This report provides a check-up on California’s progress with two innovative water management tools: water marketing and groundwater banking. These tools are part of a modern approach that will enable California to manage its scarce water resources more flexibly and sustainably.

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Central Valley Project (CVP) Water Transfer Program Fact Sheet

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Central Valley Project (CVP) Water Transfer Program Fact Sheet
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | February 1, 2015...
Summary
Water transfers and exchanges are an integral part of CVP water operations, particularly in drought years, as long as transfers can occur consistent...

Water transfers and exchanges are an integral part of CVP water operations, particularly in drought years, as long as transfers can occur consistent with state and federal laws governing water transfers. In 2014, Reclamation facilitated the transfer of over 257,000 acre-feet of water. Of the 257,000 acre-feet, 213,220 acre-feet was considered “new water” to the system, meaning specific actions (such as reservoir reoperation, crop idling/shifting, groundwater substitution, or Yuba Accord purchases) were taken to make the water available. The remaining quantity was considered an in-basin transfer or a reallocation of contract supply.

• §3405(a) of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) authorizes the transfer of all or a portion of a CVP contractors contracted water supply to any other California water user or water agency, State or Federal agency, Indian Tribe, or private non-profit organization for project purposes or any purpose recognized as beneficial under State law.

• CVP water transfers are subject to the conditions prescribed in §3405(a), 1993 Interim Guidelines for Implementation of Water Transfers, and the Department of the Interior Final CVPIA Administrative Proposal on Water Transfers (1998).

• Water transfer provisions of CVPIA do not apply to permanent contract assignments under which a CVP contractor relinquishes their contractual right to Project water; water banking and recharge actions outside of the contractors boundaries; water for water exchanges; forbearance actions whereby CVP contractors are paid not to exercise their right to water; and transfers of base supply water under settlement contracts which are carried out in accordance with State law.

• Since 1992, the Region and the State of California Department of Water Resources, owners and operators of the two largest water projects in California, have collaborated to develop criteria to facilitate water transfers.

• The Region facilitates both short and long-term transfers of CVP water. Long-term transfer approvals are accomplished through programmatic environmental documentation, with annual approvals of physical water transfers.

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Colorado River Basin Environmental Transfers Scorecard

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Colorado River Basin Environmental Transfers Scorecard
Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Bill Lane Center for the American West | March 16, 2017...
Summary
The Colorado River and its tributaries support more than 35 million people and irrigate more than four million acres of farmland. At the...
The Colorado River and its tributaries support more than 35 million people and irrigate more than four million acres of farmland. At the same time, the river supports 30 fish species found nowhere else on earth and inspires millions of visitors and residents alike with its sheer beauty. However, growing water scarcity caused by increased water use, hydrologic variability and climate change loom over all the Colorado River provides.

Click here for follow-up report.

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Draft EIR Monterey Amendment to the State Water Project Contracts (Including Kern Water Bank Transfer) and Associated Actions as Part of a Settlement Agreement (Monterey Plus)
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Draft EIR Monterey Amendment to the State Water Project Contracts (Including Kern Water Bank Transfer) and Associated Actions as Part of a Settlement Agreement (Monterey Plus)
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 1, 2015...
Summary
The California Department of Water Resources (Department), as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), prepared the environmental impact report...
The California Department of Water Resources (Department), as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), prepared the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Monterey Amendment to the State Water Project Contracts (Including Kern Water Bank Transfer) and Associated Actions as Part of a Settlement Agreement (Monterey Plus) (Monterey Plus EIR). The Department certified the Monterey Plus EIR on February 1, 2010. Several parties challenged the adequacy of the Monterey Plus EIR under CEQA. In 2014, the Monterey Plus EIR was found by the Sacramento County Superior Court (Court) to comply with CEQA in all aspects except with respect to the development, use, and operation of the Kern Water Bank (KWB). The Court specified that the Department is to correct the deficiencies and recertify the EIR without reopening the non-defective portions of the EIR. Upon recertification, only those portions of the Revised EIR (REIR) that are new or changed shall be subject to challenge under CEQA by petitioners or other interested parties.

For these reasons, the Department has developed this three-volume Monterey Plus Draft Revised EIR. Document A1 presents all the changes to the Monterey Plus EIR made as a result of the Department’s reanalysis of the Kern Fan Element (KFE) property transfer and new analysis of the KWB development and continued use and operation. Since DWR decertified the Monterey Plus EIR, pursuant to the Court’s order, the Revised EIR also includes, without modification, the 2007 Draft EIR (Document B, including Volumes I and II) and the 2010 Final EIR (Document C, including Volumes I and II). Together, the three documents constitute the Monterey Plus Draft Revised EIR (Figure P-1).

The Draft Revised EIR focuses on the development and continued use and operations of the KWB near Bakersfield. Potentially significant impacts before mitigation were related to groundwater levels and quality, Kern River water quality, the Cross Valley Canal, terrestrial biological resources, erosion, hazardous materials, waterborne disease, cultural and paleontological resources, greenhouse gas emissions, and cumulative impacts. Potentially significant and unavoidable impacts were related to cumulative growth-related impacts. The Draft Revised EIR identifies hazardous sites on or near KWB Lands that have been remediated.

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Goal-based water trading expands and diversifies supplies for enhanced resilience

In response to rising water scarcity concerns around the world, water utilities are expanding and diversifying their water supply portfolios, including attempting to value and reuse every drop throughout the water cycle. This transition is creating new hybrid infrastructure systems that combine centralized and decentralized sources at various scales. To help strategize and manage these emerging hybrid systems, we introduce a flexible goal-based water-trading framework using a combination of regulatory and market incentives. We apply this framework in a simulation of the San Francisco Bay Area, and test the effects of policy parameters, local preferences and collaboration between utilities. Results show that the option of engaging in an open trading scheme can lead to a more strategic and holistic path to higher regional resiliency through increased diversity in water portfolios, at lower costs than if utilities were tasked with pursuing goals independently. Highest benefits are observed when utilities cooperate in the exchange of information, which highlights the importance of transparency and trust operating in conjunction with regulatory and market forces.

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Goal-based water trading expands and diversifies supplies for enhanced resilience
Nature Sustainability | February 11, 2019...
Summary
In response to rising water scarcity concerns around the world, water utilities are expanding and diversifying their water supply portfolios, including attempting to...
In response to rising water scarcity concerns around the world, water utilities are expanding and diversifying their water supply portfolios, including attempting to value and reuse every drop throughout the water cycle. This transition is creating new hybrid infrastructure systems that combine centralized and decentralized sources at various scales. To help strategize and manage these emerging hybrid systems, we introduce a flexible goal-based water-trading framework using a combination of regulatory and market incentives. We apply this framework in a simulation of the San Francisco Bay Area, and test the effects of policy parameters, local preferences and collaboration between utilities. Results show that the option of engaging in an open trading scheme can lead to a more strategic and holistic path to higher regional resiliency through increased diversity in water portfolios, at lower costs than if utilities were tasked with pursuing goals independently. Highest benefits are observed when utilities cooperate in the exchange of information, which highlights the importance of transparency and trust operating in conjunction with regulatory and market forces.

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