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A Guide to California Water Right Appropriations
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A Guide to California Water Right Appropriations
State Water Resources Control Board | January 1, 2000...
Summary
A guide to California's water right permit process written by the State Water Resources Control Board, dated January 2000. TABLE OF CONTENTS California...
A guide to California's water right permit process written by the State Water Resources Control Board, dated January 2000.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
- California Water Rights
- Permit Issuance - A look at the process
- Things to consider before filing your application
- Filing your applicationj
- Appendices
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A Legal Guide to the Public’s Rights to Access and Use of California’s Navigable Waters

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A Legal Guide to the Public’s Rights to Access and Use of California’s Navigable Waters
California State Lands Commission | November 20, 2017...
Summary
In California, members of the public have rights to access and use navigable waters for many beneficial uses, including, but not limited to navigation, fishing, and recreation. These public rights are expressed in federal law, California’s Act of...
In California, members of the public have rights to access and use navigable waters for many beneficial uses, including, but not limited to navigation, fishing, and recreation. These public rights are expressed in federal law, California’s Act of Admission, the California Constitution, court opinions, and state statutes. However, the public’s rights to access and use the state’s navigable waters are sometimes misunderstood.

California public officials are periodically called on to address disputes about the public’s rights to access and use the state’s navigable waters. These disputes may arise between recreational water users, such as boaters, fishermen, hunters, shoreline and beach users, and adjacent private property owners. In this guide, the California State Lands Commission seeks to inform and clarify, for the public, government officials, and private property owners, the public’s rights to access and use the state’s navigable waters by summarizing the relevant legal principles.

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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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A Research Guide to California Water Law
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A Research Guide to California Water Law
Loyola Law School | February 21, 2017...
Summary
California water law is a complex subject. It is governed by both state and federal law, and is part property law and part...
California water law is a complex subject. It is governed by both state and federal law, and is part property law and part environmental law. This topic has important historical roots, based in common law concepts of private rights to water, but is now dominated by federal legislation aimed at achieving environmental purposes. Adding to this complexity is the existence of a large number of federal, state and local agencies which play a role in the allocation and management of the state’s water resources.

This research guide explains the basic concepts a researcher needs in order to begin understanding the current legal regime that controls the water of California. The guide covers a wide variety of resources, both print and online, some of which are freely available but others only through paid subscriptions. The greater emphasis is on California statutes, cases and regulations, but the secondary sources discussed will provide the necessary explanation of how federal law applies.

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Accounting for California’s Water
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Accounting for California’s Water
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | July 13, 2016...
Summary
Understanding California’s water balance sheet—how much there is, who has claims to it, and what is actually being “spent”—is key to effectively managing...
Understanding California’s water balance sheet—how much there is, who has claims to it, and what is actually being “spent”—is key to effectively managing the state’s limited water supply in support of a healthy economy and environment. The latest drought has spotlighted serious gaps and fragmentation in California’s water accounting system.

In this report, we identify gaps in California’s water information systems. We recommend that the state adopt an overarching goal of modernizing its water accounting, and that key state agencies—supported by an oversight committee of key stakeholders and independent experts—develop and adopt a common accounting framework. We outline a dozen priority actions to strengthen water accounting by: improving measurements and estimates of water availability and use; firming up legal claims on water rights and water reserved for the environment; establishing protocols, standards, and models for transparent water accounting at all levels across the state; and making water information more available and accessible to water managers, water users, policymakers, and the public.

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Allocating California’s Water: Directions for Reform
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Allocating California’s Water: Directions for Reform
Public Policy Institute of California | November 11, 2015...
Summary
California’s water allocation system hampers its ability to meet the state’s needs, especially in times of drought. At its heart is an unusually...
California’s water allocation system hampers its ability to meet the state’s needs, especially in times of drought. At its heart is an unusually complex array of water rights. This report summarizes challenges and suggests reforms to strengthen the state’s ability to weather droughts and shifting economic demands for water, while maintaining the existing seniority of water rights.

Read a summary of the report’s policy recommendations.

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Applying the Public Trust Doctrine to River Protection
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Applying the Public Trust Doctrine to River Protection
Department of Water Resources | June 9, 2004...
Summary
The public trust is an ancient doctrine, stemming from Roman law. The Institutes of Justinian state that “by natural law, these things are...
The public trust is an ancient doctrine, stemming from Roman law. The Institutes of Justinian state that “by natural law, these things are common property of all: air, running water, the sea, and with it the shores of the sea.” In medieval England this notion was picked up and turned into a declaration that the shores of the sea are common to all and inalienable. The concept was adopted in the United States. As early as 1821, a New Jersey court held that the state could not convey into private ownership the public lands covered by tidal waters, and that any grant purporting to do so was void. These waters are vested in the sovereign state, the court held, not for its own use, but for the use of its citizens for “passing and repassing, navigation, fishing, fowling, sustenance, and all the other uses of the water and its products...” Arnold v. Mundy, 6 N.J.L. 1 (1821).

Although the legislature may build dams, locks and bridges in the general interest of improving navigation, the court stated, “they may not consistently with the principles of the law of nature and the constitution of a well-ordered society, make a direct and absolute grant of the waters of the state, divesting all the citizens of their common right.” That, said the Chief Justice, would be a grievance “which never could be long borne by a free people.” Id at 78.
The public trust, like the ten commandments, has traditionally been phrased in terms of prohibition: “Thou shalt not abdicate the State’s control over its navigable waters.” More recently, however, this hoary common law creature, with roots in the civil laws of the Roman emperors, the English monarchs and the Spanish kings, has emerged from its long submerged home to impose new protections for the environment and new duties on governmental agencies.

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Appropriative Water Rights in California: Background and Issues
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Appropriative Water Rights in California: Background and Issues
State Water Resources Control Board | May 1, 1977...
Summary
This paper is part of a series of background and issue papers prepared by the staff of the Governor's Commission to Review California...
This paper is part of a series of background and issue papers prepared by the staff of the Governor's Commission to Review California Water Rights Law.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. Historical Background of Appropriative Rights

III. The Mechanics of Prior Appropriation

IV. Statements of Water Diversion and Use

V. Disputes Over Rights to Water

VI. Enforcement

VII. Loss of Appropriative Rights

VIII. Criticisms of Prior Appropriation Doctrine

IX. Water Use Planning and Allocation

Issues

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Authority and Effectiveness of the State Water Resources Control Board
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Authority and Effectiveness of the State Water Resources Control Board
Delta Vision | July 1, 2008...
Summary
This report addresses issues related to the effectiveness of the California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Board” or “Board”) in carrying out...
This report addresses issues related to the effectiveness of the California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Board” or “Board”) in carrying out its roles and responsibilities, with particular reference to the Sacramento-San Joaquin San Francisco Bay-Delta (“Delta”).

Section 1 presents an overview and evaluation of the authority and responsibility of the State Board. Section 2 describes actions of the State Board over many years in connection with the Delta, and in summary form, the Mono Lake basin and the Yuba River. Based on the preceding sections, Section 3 evaluates the effectiveness of the Board with particular reference to the Delta and sets forth some observations related to the Board’s authority and effectiveness.

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California Water Reallocation: Where’d You Get That?
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California Water Reallocation: Where’d You Get That?
Natural Resources Journal | March 8, 2017...
Summary
When thirsty, Californians often avoid going to the market for more water. Instead, they might borrow some from their rich neighbors, they might...
When thirsty, Californians often avoid going to the market for more water. Instead, they might borrow some from their rich neighbors, they might sue them or more commonly, they simply take more from users without much of a voice (e.g. the fish or future generations). These alternatives are often superior to using markets. Within markets, a surprising detail emerges – it is uncommon for farmers to fallow fields in order to sell water to another user. Rather, many water transfers are structured so sellers can have their cake and eat it too. While some of these transfers rightly bring about jealousy and criticism, they likely do facilitate efficient water use. In discussing these points, I provide a more holistic description of how water users reallocate water as well as a richer understanding of how California’s water market actually works.

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California’s Area of Origin Laws
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California’s Area of Origin Laws
State Water Resources Control Board | April 8, 2013...
Summary
California’s Area of Origin Laws have long been in the background of the State’s major water issues. They were enacted 50-80 years ago,...
California’s Area of Origin Laws have long been in the background of the State’s major water issues. They were enacted 50-80 years ago, are written very generally, and have not been subject to a lot of interpretation by the courts. However, they remain a potential linchpin to resolving many of California’s most vexing water disputes. For that reason alone, the Area of Origin Laws are worthy of attention. It is the purpose of this report to: provide a brief description of the Area of Origin Laws, to discuss recent court cases that have discussed them, and to summarize the major principles embodied in the laws.

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Chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project
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Chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project
Department of Water Resources | January 1, 2013...
Summary
A chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project from 1950 to 2007.
A chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project from 1950 to 2007.

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Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Study for California: Legal Analysis of Barriers to Adaptation for California’s Water Sector
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Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Study for California: Legal Analysis of Barriers to Adaptation for California’s Water Sector
California Energy Commission | July 31, 2012...
Summary
This project focused on the legal and institutional framework associated with California’s water rights allocation system, and identifies changes to that framework that...
This project focused on the legal and institutional framework associated with California’s water rights allocation system, and identifies changes to that framework that would facilitate adaptation to climate change. Since such changes may be difficult to accomplish, the project focused largely, but not exclusively, on changes that may be politically feasible now or in the future.

There is already conflict in California over water allocation, and climate change will exacerbate that conflict by increasing demand and decreasing supply. Adaptation will be needed both to address already unavoidable impacts from historical emissions, and to address impacts from future emissions.

To identify changes that would facilitate adaptation this study looked at recent legislation, policy proposals, and white papers addressing water reform; and off?the record interviews were conducted with individuals familiar with California water law. Having an accurate record of who is diverting water in California, and in what quantity, is the single most important step towards preparing for climate change, and the recommendations reflect that.

For groundwater, the changes identified would (1) expand groundwater monitoring and reporting requirements, (2) expand groundwater planning requirements, and (3) require the State Board to improve groundwater management and to prevent the waste or unreasonable use of groundwater.

For surface water, the changes we identify would (1) require the State Board to provide information about efficient agricultural water management practices, and streamline State Board procedures for enforcement actions for the waste and unreasonable use of water, (2) increase the enforcement of and penalties for failing to file a Statement of Water Diversion and Use and for illegal diversions, (3) require all beneficiaries of the water rights system to bear the cost of activities related to the administration of those rights, and (4) expand reporting requirements to require diverters to state what they believe their water rights to be.

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Governor’s Commission to Review California Water Rights Law: Final Report

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Governor’s Commission to Review California Water Rights Law: Final Report
State Water Resources Control Board | December 22, 1978...
Summary
The Final Report of the Governor's Commission to Review Water Rights Law, dated 12/22/1978. The report contains the Commission's analysis of existing California...
The Final Report of the Governor's Commission to Review Water Rights Law, dated 12/22/1978. The report contains the Commission's analysis of existing California water rights law and recommendations for modifications.

The Commission recommended 'modernization' in four areas: water rights, efficiency in water use, instream uses of water, and groundwater.

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Groundwater Exchange Pools and Urban Water Supply Sustainability: Modeling Directed and Undirected Networks
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Groundwater Exchange Pools and Urban Water Supply Sustainability: Modeling Directed and Undirected Networks
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, American Society of Civil Engineers | August 1, 2018...
Summary
Groundwater basins are important sources of water supply and storage for many cities. Groundwater exchange pools offer additional opportunities for utilizing these common...

Groundwater basins are important sources of water supply and storage for many cities. Groundwater exchange pools offer additional opportunities for utilizing these common pool resources, but their potential role in urban water management is not clear, and modeling such exchanges can be challenging. This paper presents an analysis of the potential for groundwater basin exchange pools to contribute to urban water supply sustainability. Building on an existing model of urban water management in Los Angeles, the analysis assesses the potential for groundwater exchange pools to reduce scarcity and demonstrates a method for modeling two-way (undirected) flows within a directed-network model using linear programming. Results indicate that exchange pools can help alleviate shortages from operational changes (reduced imported water) in Los Angeles, but providing more parties with access to storage improves their effectiveness. Exchange pools could potentially provide 6–12% of total supplies and reduce shortages as much as 86%. Considerations for organizing exchange pools are discussed to explore policy implications for managing common pool resources. The analytical method for embedding undirected network flows within a larger directed-network model has wide applicability for water resource systems analysis applications, including modeling water markets and interbasin transfers.

*The full text of this paper is behind a pay wall at a single-use cost of $30. It does not appear to be available through the Los Angeles Public Library. For those without access through universities, U.C. Davis hosts a free discussion of the content by the authors at California Water Blog.

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How are Western water districts managing groundwater basins?

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How are Western water districts managing groundwater basins?
California Agriculture | March 13, 2018...
Summary
Making the transition from open-access groundwater rights to sustainable groundwater management is a formidable task for newly formed groundwater sustainability agencies in California....

Making the transition from open-access groundwater rights to sustainable groundwater management is a formidable task for newly formed groundwater sustainability agencies in California. As agencies begin to decide how to make equitable water allocations, how to monitor groundwater use and what mix of supply- and demand-side mechanisms to adopt to satisfy sustainability criteria, the groundwater management strategies in place across other basins in the western United States are worth studying. We surveyed 18 groundwater districts in California and other Western states to identify the management approaches and practices they have instituted. The conclusions we draw suggest a correlative rights framework of water allocation with phase-ins for heavy users; metered pumping; flexible arrangements for trading and carrying over allocations for multiple years; and incentivizing groundwater recharge, including recharge from deep percolation from crops. Rigid formulas for significantly reducing groundwater use in medium- and high-priority basins are likely to have significant negative effects on the regional economy.

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Improving Water Right Enforcement Authority
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Improving Water Right Enforcement Authority
State Water Resources Control Board | April 5, 2012...
Summary
The State Water Board’s enforcement authority for water right is inconsistent with its broad enforcement authority over water quality matters. The recommendations contained...
The State Water Board’s enforcement authority for water right is inconsistent with its broad enforcement authority over water quality matters. The recommendations contained in this report would enhance the ability of the State Water Board to take appropriate enforcement actions over water right matters.

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In the Field and In the Stream: California Reasonable Use Law Applied to Water for Agriculture
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In the Field and In the Stream: California Reasonable Use Law Applied to Water for Agriculture
GGU Law Digital Commons | August 1, 2016...
Summary
When it comes to fresh water consumption in California, going forward we will need to learn to do more with less. There are...
When it comes to fresh water consumption in California, going forward we will need to learn to do more with less. There are at least two main reasons why California will need to learn to do more with less water. First, there is a growing population in the state, a population that is increasingly urban which means there will be greater demand for urban
municipal domestic water supplies.

Second, there are now increasing demands to leave additional amounts of
surface fresh water instream. The demands for additional instream flow relate in part to the declining condition of California’s native fisheries (such as salmon, steelhead and smelt). The demands for additional instream flow also relate to water quality and salinity concerns. With reduced fresh water flows in our coastal rivers, seawater is pushing further upriver, and increasingly saline water cannot be used for drinking or irrigating.6 With seawater intrusion, excessive upstream diversion of fresh water threatens the very supply of fresh water.

The long-standing debate over water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and the impact of such Delta exports on salinity, water quality and native fisheries, is perhaps the most prominent illustration of such demands for additional instream flow.

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Indigenous communities, groundwater opportunities

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Indigenous communities, groundwater opportunities
Science Magazine, American Association for the Advancement of Science | August 3, 2018...
Summary
Instead of managing fresh water as one integrated resource, laws frequently treat groundwater separately from more visible, monitored, and managed surface waters. One...
Instead of managing fresh water as one integrated resource, laws frequently treat groundwater separately from more visible, monitored, and managed surface waters. One under-recognized consequence of such legal fragmentation has been uncertainty about whether water rights for indigenous communities, which have been addressed in many countries to varying degrees for surface waters, apply to groundwater. In late 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court left standing a lower court ruling endorsing priority groundwater rights for Native American tribes by denying an appeal in Agua Caliente Band v. Coachella Valley Water District.

This ruling establishes a new standard throughout nine western states within the lower court's jurisdiction and establishes persuasive, although nonbinding, legal precedent for the rest of the United States. To evaluate the ruling's broader potential impacts, we present new data cataloging existing Native American water rights and mapping unresolved tribal groundwater claims across the western United States. No court considered such a regional or national quantitative catalog or map. Drawing lessons from past U.S. experience, we then discuss how tribal rights may offer new opportunities to achieve sustainable groundwater management for society at large, with implications beyond the United States.

*The full text of this paper is behind a Science Magazine pay wall at a single-issue cost of $15. It should be available for free through research portals at universities, and may be accessible through public libraries with Science Magazine subscriptions. A free summary is contained by the August 3, 2018 Stanford News report "Stanford study reveals the changing scope of Native American groundwater rights – and opportunities for better freshwater management."

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Information Pertaining to Water Rights in California
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Information Pertaining to Water Rights in California
State Water Resources Control Board | January 1, 2000...
Summary
A handbook on water rights produced by the State Water Resources Control Board, dated January 2000. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction General Information Pertaining...
A handbook on water rights produced by the State Water Resources Control Board, dated January 2000.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- General Information Pertaining to Water Rights
- Appropriative Rights Initiated Prior to December 19, 1914
- Appropriative Rights Initiated Subsequent to December 19, 1914
- Loss of Appropriative Rights
- Riparian Rights
- Prescription
- Vested Appropriative and Riparian Rights Not Affected by Filing an Application
- Disputes Over the Use of Water
- Public Trust
- Determination of Existing Rights
- Appropriation of Underground Water
- Spring Water
- No Assistance Rendered in Securing Right of Access to Point of Diversion or Right-of-Way
- Patents and Homesteads
- Supervision Over Dams
- Provision of Fish and Game Code
- Statements of Water Diversions and Use
- Stockpond Rights
- General Information Pertaining To Applications For Permits To Appropriate Unappropriated Water
- Who Should File An Application
- Who Should Not File An Application
- Purpose of Filing
- When to File
- Unappropriated Water and Responsibilities of Permittees
- Outline of Essential Steps
- Preparation of Applications
- Changes In Ownership
- Appendix - Table of Equivalents
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