CHAPTER 1. General Provisions

Chapter 1 enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 368.

§§ 1200–1248 · 59 sections

1. ARTICLE 1. Water Subject to Appropriation §§ 1200–1203 · 4 sections

   • § 1200 Whenever the terms stream, lake or other body of water, or water occurs in relation to applications to appropriate water or permits or licenses issued pursuant…
   • § 1201 All water flowing in any natural channel, excepting so far as it has been or is being applied to useful and beneficial purposes upon, or in so far as it is or…
   • § 1202 The following are hereby declared to constitute unappropriated water: (a) All water which has never been appropriated. (b) All water appropriated prior to…
   • § 1203 Any water the right to the use of which is held by any municipality which is in excess of the existing municipal needs therefor may be appropriated by any…
2. ARTICLE 1.3. Declaration of Fully Appropriated Stream System §§ 1205–1207 · 3 sections

   • § 1205 (a) Following notice and hearing, the board may adopt a declaration that a stream system is fully appropriated. As used in this article, “stream system”…
   • § 1206 (a) From and after the date of adoption of a declaration that a stream system is fully appropriated, and subject to subdivision (b), the board shall not accept…
   • § 1207 Notice of hearing pursuant to this article shall be given as follows: (a) The notice shall be published at least once a week for four consecutive weeks in one…
3. ARTICLE 1.5. Treated Waste Water §§ 1210–1212 · 3 sections

   • § 1210 The owner of a waste water treatment plant operated for the purpose of treating wastes from a sanitary sewer system shall hold the exclusive right to the…
   • § 1211 (a) Prior to making any change in the point of discharge, place of use, or purpose of use of treated wastewater, the owner of any wastewater treatment plant…
   • § 1212 The board shall not grant any permit or license to any person other than the treated waste water producer for the appropriation of treated waste water where…
4. ARTICLE 1.7. Areas of Origin §§ 1215–1222 · 11 sections

   • § 1215 This article shall only apply to a water supplier exporting or intending to export water for use outside a protected area pursuant to applications to…
   • § 1215.5 (a) For the purposes of this article, “protected area”, means all of lands which normally drain to the ocean, to a hydraulic sink, or to another state within…
   • § 1215.6 For the purposes of this article, “water user or users” within a protected area means an appropriator or appropriators, a riparian user or users, or a…
   • § 1216 A protected area shall not be deprived directly or indirectly of the prior right to all the water reasonably required to adequately supply the beneficial needs…
   • § 1217 (a) In addition to the right to obtain a water right which would have priority over the rights of an exporter, water users in a protected area shall have the…
   • § 1218 Upon the request of an applicant for a permit to appropriate water for use outside a protected area, a county of origin shall cooperate with the applicant in…
   • § 1219 A water supplier exporting or intending to export water outside a protected area, or a water user or users within a protected area, may declare that an impasse…
   • § 1219.5 The provisions of this article shall not require any water supplier exporting or intending to export water for use outside a protected area to furnish to any…
   • § 1220 (a) No groundwater shall be pumped for export from within the combined Sacramento and Delta-Central Sierra Basins, as defined in the Department of Water…
   • § 1221 This article shall not be construed to authorize the board to regulate groundwater in any manner.
   • § 1222 Nothing in this article shall be deemed to diminish the rights and protections to watersheds of origin contained in existing law including, but not limited to,…
5. ARTICLE 2. Exclusive Method of Appropriation § 1225 · 1 section

   • § 1225 Except as provided in Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 1226) of this chapter, no right to appropriate or use water subject to appropriation shall be…
6. ARTICLE 2.5. Stockponds §§ 1226–1226.4 · 5 sections

   • § 1226 The Legislature finds and declares that it is necessary and beneficial to the state to clear up many heretofore uncertain conditions of water rights which are…
   • § 1226.1 The owner of any dam or other water impoundment structure constructed prior to January 1, 1969, the capacity of which is not in excess of 10 acre-feet on…
   • § 1226.2 (a) Any person who has a valid water right pursuant to Section 1226.1, who files a claim of water right with the board on or before December 31, 1977, has a…
   • § 1226.3 Each claim of water right shall be accompanied by a fee which shall be in an amount determined by the board to cover the reasonable administrative costs of…
   • § 1226.4 The board may, after notice and hearing, revoke any certificate of a water right granted pursuant to this article upon a finding that the water has ceased to…
7. ARTICLE 2.6. Nonreserved Water Rights for Federal Uses §§ 1227–1227.4 · 5 sections

   • § 1227 The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest to provide a priority of right to appropriate water for various beneficial water uses…
   • § 1227.1 (a) To obtain the priority of right set forth in Section 1227, any agency of the United States shall submit to the board, on or before July 1, 1984, a…
   • § 1227.2 (a) Subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), any use for which a statement is submitted to the board pursuant to Section 1227.1 has a priority for the…
   • § 1227.3 This article does not apply to uses involving the appropriation of water by any person, including any agency of the United States, pursuant to the Federal…
   • § 1227.4 The board may, after following procedures set forth in Sections 1675 to 1675.2, inclusive, revoke any water right determined pursuant to this article upon a…
8. ARTICLE 2.7. Registration of Appropriations for Small Domestic, Small Irrigation, and Livestock Stockpond Uses §§ 1228–1229.1 · 10 sections

   • § 1228 This article shall be known and may be cited as the Water Rights Permitting Reform Act of 1988.
   • § 1228.1 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest to provide a timely, efficient, and economic procedure for the acquisition of rights…
   • § 1228.2 (a) (1) Subject to subdivision (b), a person may obtain a right to appropriate water for a small domestic, small irrigation, or livestock stockpond use upon…
   • § 1228.3 (a) Registration of water use pursuant to this article shall be made upon a form prescribed by the board. The registration form shall set forth all of the…
   • § 1228.4 (a) Any completed registration of water use gives to the registrant a priority of right as of the date of completed registration to take and use the amount of…
   • § 1228.5 (a) Registration of a small domestic, small irrigation, or livestock stockpond use pursuant to this article shall be renewed prior to the expiration of each…
   • § 1228.6 (a) The board shall establish, and may from time to time revise, reasonable general conditions to which all appropriations made pursuant to this article shall…
   • § 1228.7 (a) A registrant may change the point of diversion or place of use by delivering to the board an amended registration form in accordance with Section 1228.3,…
   • § 1229 (a) The board is not required to adopt general conditions for small irrigation use pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1228.6 until the board determines…
   • § 1229.1 (a) This article does not apply to those stream segments for which the Director of Fish and Wildlife establishes proposed streamflow requirements pursuant to…
9. ARTICLE 3. Appropriation from Interstate Streams §§ 1230–1231 · 2 sections

   • § 1230 If the waters of an interstate body of water have been allocated between California and another state or Indian tribe by a compact, United States Supreme Court…
   • § 1231 (a) A right of appropriation from a stream that flows across the state boundary that has the point of diversion and the place of use in another state and is…
10. ARTICLE 4. Beneficial Use §§ 1240–1244 · 11 sections

    • § 1240 The appropriation must be for some useful or beneficial purpose, and when the appropriator or his successor in interest ceases to use it for such a purpose the…
    • § 1241 If the person entitled to the use of water fails to use beneficially all or any part of the water claimed by him or her, for which a right of use has vested,…
    • § 1241.6 If water appropriated for irrigation purposes is not used by reason of compliance with crop control or soil conservation contracts with the United States, and…
    • § 1242 The storing of water underground, including the diversion of streams and the flowing of water on lands necessary to the accomplishment of such storage,…
    • § 1242.1 The diversion of floodflows for groundwater recharge shall not require an appropriative water right if all of the following conditions are met: (a) (1) A local…
    • § 1242.2 (a) The board shall post on its internet website all reports received pursuant to Section 1242.1. (b) On an annual basis, until January 1, 2029, the board…
    • § 1242.3 (a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows: (1) California’s central valley has one of the highest flood risks in the United States. Recognizing this…
    • § 1242.5 The board, subject to the provisions of Section 100 and whenever it is in the public interest, may approve appropriation by storage of water to be released for…
    • § 1243 (a) The use of water for recreation and preservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources is a beneficial use of water. In determining the amount of…
    • § 1243.5 In determining the amount of water available for appropriation, the board shall take into account, whenever it is in the public interest, the amounts of water…
    • § 1244 The sale, lease, exchange, or transfer of water or water rights, in itself, shall not constitute evidence of waste or unreasonable use, unreasonable method of…
11. ARTICLE 5. Liability Within a Watershed §§ 1245–1248 · 4 sections

    • § 1245 Every municipal corporation of this State, and every person, firm or corporation engaged in supplying water to any municipal corporations for municipal,…
    • § 1246 For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of any damage claimed to have been suffered or sustained by reason of any of the acts or things mentioned in Section…
    • § 1247 Nothing in this article shall confer the right to recover damages resulting directly or indirectly by reason of the construction, operation or maintenance of…
    • § 1248 This article shall be liberally construed.