In the Field and In the Stream: California Reasonable Use Law Applied to Water for Agriculture

Golden Gate University (GSU) | August 1st, 2016

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

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.

Light v. State Water Resources Control Board

Court of Appeals of California, First Appellate District | July 11th, 2014

Los Angeles Waterkeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board

Second Appellate District, Court of Appeal of the State of California | February 27th, 2023

The Reasonable Use Doctrine and Water Use Efficiency Report

Publisher not available | April 5th, 2011

The purpose of the report is to review the breadth of the Reasonable Use Doctrine, which can affect all water uses, including urban, hydropower, recreation, environment,

The purpose of the report is to review the breadth of the Reasonable Use Doctrine, which can affect all water uses, including urban, hydropower, recreation, environment, and agriculture, and then to focus on how the Reasonable Use Doctrine can be used promote efficient use of water in the agricultural sector. The underlying premise of this report is that the inefficient use of water is an unreasonable use of water. Accordingly, the Reasonable Use Doctrine is available prospectively to prevent general practices of inefficient water use. Indeed, the Reasonable Use Doctrine, as set forth in the State Constitution and California Statutes is broad and inviolate in scope. As interpreted by case law and administrative decisions and used to its full potential, it can comprehensively address the inefficient use of water in California.

The Reasonable Use Doctrine in California Water Law and Policy

University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (UC Law SF) | August 30th, 2016

The cardinal principle of California water law is that all water rights, and all uses of water, must be reasonable. This seemingly simple and innocuous sentence masks a w

The cardinal principle of California water law is that all water rights, and all uses of water, must be reasonable. This seemingly simple and innocuous sentence masks a world of meaning and complexity, however, because the requirement of reasonable use embraces at least four interrelated concepts. The determination of reasonable water use is utilitarian: the law seeks to encourage relatively efficient, economically and socially beneficial uses of the state’s water resources. It is situational: the evaluation of individual reasonable use concerns not only the water right holder’s own uses but also other competing demands (both consumptive and ecological) on the water resource. The reasonable use doctrine is also dynamic: the definition of reasonable use varies as the economy, technology, demographics, hydrologic conditions, environment, and societal needs evolve. And, because all uses of water must be consistent with this interdependent and variable definition of reasonable use, the law renders all water rights fragile. A water right that was reasonable when first recognized, and which may have been exercised reasonably for many years, may become unreasonable as hydrologic conditions change, as California’s economy evolves, as population grows and new demands for water arise, as ecological needs are better understood, and as the environmental laws that protect the state’s aquatic ecosystems and native species are applied in ways that limit the impoundment and diversion of water for consumptive uses.

Wasted Water: Reasonable Use Law in 21st Century California

Publisher not available | January 24th, 2015

The 2015 California Water Law Symposium focused on the reasonable use of water in modern day California. Panel topics: The Long View on Reasonable Use Law in Cali

The 2015 California Water Law Symposium focused on the reasonable use of water in modern day California. Panel topics: The Long View on Reasonable Use Law in California A Tale of Two Counties: Efficiency in a Modern Climate "Just" Pricing: Water Affordability and California's Human Right to Water Sustainable Groundwater Management The Role of Reasonable Use Law in the Russian River Frost Protection Litigation Advancements and Challenges in Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Since 2009