PART 4. DISTRIBUTION OF WATER IN WATERMASTER SERVICE AREAS [4000. - 4407.]

Part 4 enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.

§§ 4000–4407 · 72 sections

1. CHAPTER 1. General Provisions §§ 4000–4003 · 4 sections

   • § 4000 As used in this part, “service area” applies to watermaster districts heretofore established and to watermaster service areas hereafter established pursuant to…
   • § 4001 As used in this part, “conduit” includes ditches, pipe lines, and other means of diversion.
   • § 4002 Any duty or authority vested in a watermaster may be exercised by the watermaster directly or through the agency of a deputy watermaster, if there is one.
   • § 4003 As used in this part, “fiscal year” means the year beginning July 1 of any calendar year and ending June 30 of the following calendar year.
2. CHAPTER 2. Creation of Watermaster Service Areas §§ 4025–4032 · 8 sections

   • § 4025 The department shall divide the State into watermaster service areas so constituted and adjusted as to insure the most practical and economical supervision of…
   • § 4026 Service areas shall be created from time to time as rights to water are ascertained and determined.
   • § 4027 The rights may be ascertained and determined by any or all of the following: (a) Under procedure provided for in this division; (b) Under procedure provided by…
   • § 4028 When rights are ascertained and determined by agreement, the agreement shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of each county in which is…
   • § 4028.5 When rights are ascertained and determined by court decree, certified copies of the decree shall be recorded as agreements are required to be recorded by…
   • § 4029 Upon the creation of a service area the department shall record in the office of the county recorder of each county in which a portion of the service area is…
   • § 4030 From time to time the department shall record supplemental or revised descriptions as the descriptions are changed.
   • § 4032 Service areas may be enlarged, reduced, consolidated, or abolished from time to time as convenience of administration may require.
3. CHAPTER 3. Watermasters §§ 4050–4053 · 4 sections

   • § 4050 (a) Upon written request submitted to the department by the owners or governing bodies of at least 15 percent of the conduits lawfully entitled to directly…
   • § 4051 The department may from time to time discontinue watermaster service in any service area, if necessity therefor ceases, and revive the service whenever and as…
   • § 4052 The watermaster shall be properly qualified and shall perform the duties imposed on him by this part as an employee under the general supervision and control…
   • § 4053 Watermasters, in addition to compensation for their services, shall receive necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
4. CHAPTER 4. Construction and Maintenance of Works and Measuring Devices §§ 4100–4126 · 7 sections

   1. ARTICLE 1. By Owners of Conduits §§ 4100–4104 · 5 sections

      • § 4100 The owner of every conduit subject to regulation by a watermaster shall construct and maintain to the satisfaction of the department a substantial and…
      • § 4101 The owner of a conduit shall construct and maintain to the satisfaction of the department a substantial and serviceable headgate in the conduit through which…
      • § 4102 The headgate shall be of such construction that it can be locked and kept closed by the watermaster.
      • § 4103 The owner of a conduit shall construct and maintain such water flow measuring devices at such points along the conduit as may be required and approved by the…
      • § 4104 If the owner of any conduit refuses or neglects to construct and maintain the diversion dam or works, the headgate, or the measuring devices provided for in…
   2. ARTICLE 2. By Owners of Reservoirs §§ 4125–4126 · 2 sections

      • § 4125 The owner of every reservoir which is subject to regulation by a watermaster and which is located across or upon the bed of a natural stream or requires the…
      • § 4126 If the owner of any reservoir neglects or refuses to construct and maintain the measuring devices provided for in this article after 30 days’ notice by the…
5. CHAPTER 5. Distribution of Water in Service Areas §§ 4150–4161 · 6 sections

   1. ARTICLE 1. Procedure of Distribution §§ 4150–4153 · 4 sections

      • § 4150 The department may make such reasonable regulations to secure distribution of water in accordance with determined rights as may be needed.
      • § 4151 The watermaster shall divide the water of the streams or other sources of supply among the several conduits and reservoirs taking water therefrom and so adjust…
      • § 4152 Whenever in pursuance of his duties the watermaster regulates a headgate to a conduit or the controlling works of a reservoir, he may attach to the headgate or…
      • § 4153 The notice is legal notice to all persons interested in the diversion and distribution of the water of the conduit or reservoir.
   2. ARTICLE 2. Remedies for Improper Distribution §§ 4160–4161 · 2 sections

      • § 4160 Any person who is injured by the action of any watermaster may apply to the superior court of the county in which the injury takes place, for an injunction.
      • § 4161 Such injunction shall be issued only in case it is shown at the hearing that the watermaster has failed to distribute the water according to the rights as…
6. CHAPTER 6. Offenses §§ 4175–4178 · 4 sections

   • § 4175 Every person who wilfully and without authority opens, closes, changes, or interferes with any headgate, waterbox, or measuring device while it is under the…
   • § 4176 The possession or use of water when it has been so denied him by the watermaster is prima facie evidence of the guilt of the person using it.
   • § 4177 Every person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by…
   • § 4178 A watermaster may arrest any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) and to deliver the person to…
7. CHAPTER 7. Expenses of Distribution §§ 4200–4335 · 29 sections

   1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 4200–4201 · 2 sections

      • § 4200 The department may incur such expense and make such expenditures as may be necessary to provide for the administration of any service area and the distribution…
      • § 4201 All of the cost of administration of a service area and the distribution of water therein shall be paid by the owners of the rights to divert or store water…
   2. ARTICLE 2. Statement and Budget §§ 4225–4228 · 4 sections

      • § 4225 The department shall, prior to June 15th of each year, prepare a statement for each service area. The statement shall contain a budget showing the amount of…
      • § 4226 The budget shall include all of the following: (a) Expenses theretofore incurred for the payment of which funds are not available. (b) The cost of an annual…
      • § 4227 The statement shall also contain an apportionment of the amount of the budget among the owners of the various rights to store or divert within the service area.
      • § 4228 In all cases where a water right is owned by two or more persons, they shall pay in proportion to their respective interests in the water right, and, when the…
   3. ARTICLE 3. Apportionment of Expense §§ 4251–4254 · 4 sections

      • § 4251 One-tenth of the budget for the service area shall be apportioned equally among the respective ownerships of all water rights involved, and except as otherwise…
      • § 4252 In all cases of rights to divert the direct flow of a stream, without storage, for power development or other nonconsumptive use, where the entire flow so…
      • § 4253 In all cases where rights exist to store or divert water for use for more than one purpose, the amount to be paid by the owner of such rights shall be based…
      • § 4254 In making an apportionment to any owner of the right to store water, 350 acre-feet of storage capacity which the owner is entitled to use shall be considered…
   4. ARTICLE 4. Payment and Collection §§ 4275–4279 · 5 sections

      • § 4275 Except as provided in Article 5 (commencing with Section 4300), the department, on or before the 15th day of August of each year, shall certify, to the auditor…
      • § 4276 The auditor shall enter the amounts of the respective apportionments against the respective parcels of land as they appear on the current assessment roll. If…
      • § 4277 The board of supervisors of each county in which there lies a watermaster service area or any portion thereof shall annually, and at the time of levying county…
      • § 4278 Apportionments levied pursuant to this article shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes. So far as applicable, all provisions…
      • § 4279 All money raised by such apportionments shall be accounted for separately as to each watermaster service area. All such money shall be transmitted by January 1…
   5. ARTICLE 5. Payment by and Collection From State Agencies and Public Entities §§ 4300–4305 · 6 sections

      • § 4300 If the owner of the right is a county, municipality, district, political subdivision, public corporation, or state agency, or is public utility as defined in…
      • § 4301 Service on such owners may be made personally, or by mail as provided by Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
      • § 4302 Each such owner shall, on or before the 10th day of December of the year in which the apportionment was made, pay to the department the amount apportioned to…
      • § 4303 If the owner of the right is a county, municipality, district, political subdivision, public corporation, or state agency, the amount apportioned, together…
      • § 4304 If the owner of the right is a public utility as defined in the Public Utilities Code, the amount apportioned, together with the penalty in case of…
      • § 4305 At any time after 30 days after any payment due under this article becomes delinquent the department may institute in the name of the people of the State an…
   6. ARTICLE 6. Alternative Method of Payment by Owners §§ 4325–4335 · 8 sections

      • § 4325 The procedure set forth in this article for collecting and making available money for watermaster distribution is in lieu of that set forth in the other…
      • § 4326 Whenever all the owners of rights to water within any service area, by agreement in writing, shall have organized themselves into an association for the…
      • § 4327 The statement shall be submitted on or before the first day of September of the year preceding that for which it is made.
      • § 4329 The association shall pay the total amount apportioned to it to the department on or before the first day of December next succeeding the receipt of the…
      • § 4330 The department shall deposit the money in the Water Resources Revolving Fund to the credit of the amount of the service area affected.
      • § 4331 The department may refuse to render watermaster service to such service area during any calendar year next succeeding the first day of December of any year…
      • § 4334 All of the provisions of this chapter relating to the expenses of service areas which are not in conflict with this article shall apply to expenses of service…
      • § 4335 If, at the time of creation of a service area, all the owners have formed an association by agreement in writing and have filed a certified copy of the…
8. CHAPTER 8. The Water Resources Revolving Fund §§ 4351–4358 · 3 sections

   • § 4351 Separate accounts shall be established in the fund to the credit of the various service areas now in existence or hereafter created from time to time.
   • § 4357 The expenditures for the supervision of the distribution of water in any service area shall be paid from that portion or account of the Water Resources…
   • § 4358 Any money remaining in the watermaster service area accounts of the Water Resources Revolving Fund at the end of any year shall be available for use the…
9. CHAPTER 9. Alternative Distribution Procedure §§ 4400–4407 · 7 sections

   • § 4400 The foregoing provisions of this part shall be applicable to this chapter, so far as adaptable thereto or consistent therewith, and whenever rights to water…
   • § 4401 Insofar as the foregoing provisions of this part may not be adaptable to or may be inconsistent with the provisions of any decree of court, the department may…
   • § 4402 In the event an order or decree of court provides for an allocation among and payment of costs of water distribution by the owners of the rights decreed, the…
   • § 4403 A certified copy of the order or decree shall be recorded in the county or counties wherein the water is diverted or used and a certified copy filed in the…
   • § 4404 Obligations to pay for the respective allocations of cost set forth in the order or decree may be enforced by the department against the respective owners or…
   • § 4406 The total sum thus made available shall be subject to expenditure by the department in performing said work, and any money remaining at the end of any year…
   • § 4407 Any moneys collected or received by the department for or on account of owners of the rights involved may be placed in a special deposit fund and paid out in…