Title WAT, California Water Code

(a) (1) As part of updating The California Water Plan every five years pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004, the department shall conduct a study to determine the amount of additional water needed to meet the state’s future water needs and to recommend programs, policies,…

(a) (1) The department, as part of the 2028 update, and each subsequent update thereafter, to The California Water Plan required pursuant to Section 10004, shall utilize its expertise in sustainable groundwater management to provide actionable recommendations to develop additiona…

(a) It is hereby declared that the people of the state have a primary interest in the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the state by all individuals and entities and that it is the policy of the state…

The department or, at the department’s request, the California Water Commission, shall conduct a series of hearings with interested persons, organizations, local, state, and federal agencies, and representatives of the diverse geographical areas and interests of the state. (Added…

Prior to holding a hearing pursuant to Section 10005.1, the department shall give notice by mail of the hearing to persons and entities which have requested notice and have provided their name and address to the department. (Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 620, Sec. 4.)

The provisions of this part do not repeal or modify any of the provisions of Part 3 of this division. (Added by Stats. 1959, Ch. 2053.)

Notwithstanding anything contained in this part, all applications heretofore filed by the Department of Finance or by the Department of Water Resources under Part 2 of Division 6 shall remain valid and shall retain and have the status and priority accorded to such applications as…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that agreements which provide for the transfer of water from the federal Central Valley Project to public entities supplying water for domestic or irrigation use offer potential benefits to California’s hard-pressed farmers and to Califor…

The director shall pursue discussions with the United States Bureau of Reclamation to permit persons and public entities which have entitlements to water from the federal Central Valley Project, to enter into legally binding contracts with any public entity which supplies water f…

Nothing in this division shall be construed as giving or confirming any right, title, or interest to or in the corpus of any water. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

(a) In preparing the California Water Plan, the director shall conduct at least one public hearing within the boundaries of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and shall solicit the comments of water agencies within the delta, agricultural groups representative of delta agricultura…

This division shall not be held to bestow upon any person, except as expressly provided in it, any right where no such right existed prior to the time this division takes effect. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

As used in this division, “Water Commission Act” means Chapter 586, Statutes of 1913, as amended. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

As used in this division, “useful or beneficial purposes” shall not be construed to mean the use in any one year of more than 212 acre-feet of water per acre in the irrigation of uncultivated areas of land not devoted to cultivated crops. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

Nothing in this division shall be construed as depriving any city, city and county, municipal water district, irrigation district, or lighting district of the benefit of any law heretofore or hereafter passed for their benefit in regard to the appropriation or acquisition of wate…

Cessation of or reduction in the extraction of ground water by the owner of a right to extract, as the result of the use of an alternate supply of water from a nontributary source, shall be and is deemed equivalent to, and for purposes of establishing and maintaining any right to…

Cessation of or reduction in the extraction of ground water, to permit the replenishment of such ground water by the use of water from an alternate nontributary source, is hereby declared to be a reasonable beneficial use of the ground water to the extent and in the amount that w…

During the pendency of an action to adjudicate substantially all water rights in a ground water basin situated in whole or in part within the Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District in Kern County, and until the date of judgment therein becomes final, which finality may be subje…

(a) Cessation of or reduction in the extraction of ground water, to permit the replenishment of such ground water by the use of water from an alternate nontributary source, is hereby declared to be a reasonable beneficial use of the ground water to the extent and in the amount th…

Nothing in this division affects or limits in any manner whatsoever the right or power of any municipality which, prior to December 19, 1914, had appropriated or acquired water for municipal purposes, to use, sell, or otherwise dispose of such water either within or without its l…

Nothing in this division shall be construed to deprive the State or any city, city and county, municipal water district, irrigation district, lighting district, political subdivision, or any person of any rights to acquire property by eminent domain proceedings. (Enacted by Stats…

Nothing in this division shall be construed as depriving any person of the right of appeal conferred under the laws of this State. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

Any supplier of water in this state for municipal use, including the state, or any city, county, city and county, district, individual, partnership, corporation, or any other entity, may undertake a water conservation program to reduce water use and may require, as a condition of…

(a) A water district and the district attorney of any county in which the water district is located may enter into an agreement authorizing the attorney for the water district to act as a special prosecutor appointed by and under the supervision and direction of the district atto…

Riparian rights in a stream or watercourse attach to, but to no more than so much of the flow thereof as may be required or used consistently with this and the next preceding section, for the purposes for which such lands are, or may be made adaptable, in view of such reasonable …

(a) (1) The cessation of, or reduction in, the use of water under any existing right regardless of the basis of right, as the result of the use of recycled water, desalinated water, or water polluted by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects the water for other beneficial u…

(a) When any person entitled to the use of water under an appropriative right fails to use all or any part of the water because of water conservation efforts, any cessation or reduction in the use of the appropriated water shall be deemed equivalent to a reasonable beneficial use…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the growing water needs of the state require the use of water in an efficient manner and that the efficient use of water requires certainty in the definition of property rights to the use of water. The Legislature further declare…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where any person, public agency, or agency of the United States undertakes any water conservation effort, either separately or jointly with others entitled to delivery of water from the Colorado River under contracts with the United Sta…

(a) The Imperial Irrigation District, acting under a contract with the United States for diversion and use of Colorado River water or pursuant to the California Constitution or to this chapter, or complying with an order of the Secretary of the Interior, a court, or the board, to…

The transfer of water, or the offer of water for transfer, shall not cause, or be the basis for, a forfeiture, abandonment, or modification of any water right, contract right, or other right to the use of that water. An offer of water for transfer, contract negotiations, or a tra…

During the term of a temporary change, as defined in Section 1725.5, if an enforcement action or other proceeding is commenced that alleges that the use of water violates Section 2 of Article X of the California Constitution, Sections 100, 101, 1410, and 1675, or any other legisl…

(a) At the conclusion of the term of a water transfer agreement, all rights in, and the use of, the water subject to the agreement revert back to the transferor. (b) After the conclusion of the term of a water transfer agreement, the transferee or any beneficiary of the transfer …

The beneficial use of water pursuant to a transfer or exchange authorized pursuant to Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 1435) of, Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1700) of, Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 1725) of, Part 2, or any other provision of law, shall constitu…

When agricultural lands are being idled in order to provide water for transfer pursuant to this division, and an amount of water is determined to be made available by that idling, landowners shall be encouraged to cultivate or retain nonirrigated cover crops or natural vegetation…

All water within the State is the property of the people of the State, but the right to the use of water may be acquired by appropriation in the manner provided by law. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

In the enactment of this code the Legislature does not intend thereby to effect any change in the law relating to water rights. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

It is hereby declared that the people of the State have a paramount interest in the use of all the water of the State and that the State shall determine what water of the State, surface and underground, can be converted to public use or controlled for public protection. (Enacted …

It is hereby declared that the protection of the public interest in the development of the water resources of the State is of vital concern to the people of the State and that the State shall determine in what way the water of the State, both surface and underground, should be de…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the Integrated Regional Water Management Planning Act. (Repealed and added by Stats. 2008, 2nd Ex. Sess., Ch. 1, Sec. 5. Effective March 1, 2009.)

It is hereby declared to be the established policy of this State that the use of water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water and that the next highest use is for irrigation. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.)

(a) It is hereby declared to be the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes. (b) All relevant state agencies, including the department, the…

(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) “Bottled water” has the same meaning as defined in Section 111070 of the Health and Safety Code. (2) “Residential development” has the same meaning as defined in Section 65008 of the Government Code. (3) “Retail water facility” has the sa…

It is hereby declared to be the established policy of this State that the right of a municipality to acquire and hold rights to the use of water should be protected to the fullest extent necessary for existing and future uses, but that no municipality shall acquire or hold any ri…

(a) It is hereby declared to be the established policy of this state to support and encourage the development of environmentally compatible small hydroelectric projects as a renewable energy source, provided that the projects do not result in surface disturbances within the follo…

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Water is a public resource that the California Constitution protects against waste and unreasonable use. (b) Growing population, climate change, and the need to protect and grow California’s economy while protecting and…