100 years of California's water rights system: patterns, trends and uncertainty

Environmental Research Letters (IOP) | August 19th, 2014

For 100 years, California’s State Water Resources Control Board and its predecessors have been responsible for allocating available water supplies to beneficial uses,

For 100 years, California’s State Water Resources Control Board and its predecessors have been responsible for allocating available water supplies to beneficial uses, but inaccurate and incomplete accounting of water rights has made the state ill-equipped to satisfy growing societal demands for water supply reliability and healthy ecosystems. Here, we present the first comprehensive evaluation of appropriative water rights to identify where, and to what extent, water has been dedicated to human uses relative to natural supplies. The results show that water right allocations total 400 billion cubic meters, approximately five times the state’s mean annual runoff. In the state’s major river basins, water rights account for up to 1000% of natural surface water supplies, with the greatest degree of appropriation observed in tributaries to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and in coastal streams in southern California. Comparisons with water supplies and estimates of actual use indicate substantial uncertainty in how water rights are exercised. In arid regions such as California, over-allocation of surface water coupled with trends of decreasing supply suggest that new water demands will be met by re-allocation from existing uses. Without improvements to the water rights system, growing human and environmental demands portend an intensification of regional water scarcity and social conflict. California’s legal framework for managing its water resources is largely compatible with needed reforms, but additional public investment is required to enhance the capacity of the state’s water management institutions to effectively track and regulate water rights.

2016 Annual Report of Hydrogeologic Conditions, Water Requirements, Supplies and Disposition Santa Maria Valley Management Area

City of Santa Maria | April 13th, 2017

This annual report of conditions in the Santa Maria Valley Management Area, for calendar year 2016, has been prepared to meet the reporting conditions of the June 30, 20

This annual report of conditions in the Santa Maria Valley Management Area, for calendar year 2016, has been prepared to meet the reporting conditions of the June 30, 2005, Stipulation entered by the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara, in the Santa Maria Valley Groundwater Basin litigation. The Stipulation divided the overall Santa Maria Valley Groundwater Basin into three management areas, the largest of which overlies the main Santa Maria Valley (the Santa Maria Valley Management Area, or SMVMA) and is the subject of this report. The other two management areas, the Nipomo Mesa Management Area (NMMA) and the Northern Cities Management Area, are addressed in separate annual reports prepared by others. The Stipulation, approved and implemented in 2008, specifies that monitoring shall be sufficient to determine groundwater conditions, land and water uses, sources of water supply, and the disposition of all water supplies in the Basin. Annual Reports for the SMVMA are to summarize the results of the monitoring and include an analysis of the relationship between projected water demand and supply. The Stipulation was preserved in the California Court of Appeal (Sixth Appellate District) Decision of November 21, 2012, and in the Superior Court of the State of California (County of Santa Clara) Final Judgment of April 23, 2014. Thus, the Physical Solution criteria for monitoring and managing groundwater in the basin remain. In accordance with the Stipulation, this report on the SMVMA provides a description of the physical setting and briefly describes previous studies conducted in the groundwater basin, including the long-term monitoring program developed for the SMVMA. As reported herein, the Twitchell Management Authority (TMA) commissioned the preparation of a monitoring program for the SMVMA in 2008, and its complete implementation is expected to provide the data with which to fully assess future conditions. This report describes hydrogeologic conditions in the management area historically and through 2016, including groundwater conditions, Twitchell Reservoir operations, and hydrologic and climatic conditions. As with all previous annual reports (commencing in 2008), the water requirements and supplies for agricultural and municipal uses are accounted, as are the components of water disposition in the SMVMA. Conclusions drawn regarding water resource conditions are discussed, including any finding of severe water shortage, which is concluded to not be the case through 2016. Finally, recommendations are provided with regard to the intra-basin transfer of water from the SMVMA to the NMMA, possible enhancement of groundwater recharge, expanded assessment of water resource conditions, and continued implementation of the monitoring program for the SMVMA. Janny Choi from Stanford University's Water in the West discusses the Santa Maria stipulation in the 2014 paper Before the Well Runs Dry: Improving the Linkage Between Groundwater and Land Use Planning.

A Case Study in Interstate Resource Management: The California-Nevada Water Controversy, 1865-1955

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | May 1st, 1973

A Common Vision for the Colorado River System: Toward a Framework for Sustainability

Water and Tribes Initiative | October 5th, 2020

A Guide to California Water Right Appropriations

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | January 1st, 2000

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 Righ

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

A Legal Guide to the Public's Rights to Access and Use of California's Navigable Waters

California State Lands Commission (SLC) | November 20th, 2017

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

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.

A Practitioner’s Guide to Instream Flow Transactions in California

American Rivers | March 1st, 2016

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

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.

A Research Guide to California Water Law

Loyola Law School | February 21st, 2017

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 his

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.

Accounting for California’s Water

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | July 13th, 2016

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 st

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.

Addressing Institutional Vulnerabilities in California’s Drought Water Allocation, Part 1: Water Rights Administration and Oversight During Major Statewide Droughts, 1976–2016

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | August 30th, 2018

Climate change has already begun to affect California’s hydrology and water resources, and droughts are likely to become more frequent, longer, and more intense

Climate change has already begun to affect California’s hydrology and water resources, and droughts are likely to become more frequent, longer, and more intense in the future (see Section 2.2.4). This project is designed to help state water governance and decision-making structures adapt to this changing climatic reality. We focus on how one of California’s primary water management institutions, the State Water Resources Control Board (Board), has responded in the past, and could better respond in the future, to droughts and their attendant challenges, including water shortage, uncertainty, and conflict. Click here for Part 2.