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Groundwater Law California, like most arid Western states, has a complex system of surface water rights that accounts for nearly all of the water in rivers and streams. Riparian rights are held by those with property bordering streams, while appropriative rights are held by those who have a claim to divert and use water away from the source. The State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) administers the permit system governing appropriative water right holders. In more recent years, most Western states have established surface-like rights for groundwater - defining and dividing a given supply for use as the water right holder sees fit. But in California, the only truly universal law governing pumping is the state constitutional mandate that water not be wasted or put to an unreasonable use. Defining groundwater rights in the West has never been easy. From a physical standpoint, groundwater is more difficult to observe and quantify than suriace water, which discourages government regulations where it is not essential to solving immediate and serious problems. From a political standpoint, the freedom to pump without restriction - rooted in tradition - has been difficult to alter. The guiding principle, in contrast with the central- ized state-controlled surtace water rights, is that with groundwater, geography is complex, so decision making is best left to local officials. That principle, however, is coming under increasing scrutiny as Cali- fornia progresses further away from an era when water supplies were expanded to meet all needs and into an era in which existing supplies are carefully managed or reallocated to meet growing needs, Most state officials favor local control. Most Western states I/(I\'e separate laH's governillg the use ofgmw/(hraler awl sw/ace H'mO: !-Iowe\'e1: California alld Texas, \\'hidz COI!Sll11ll' more !!,rOlmdH'oter ,han allY o,her state, are the only Iwo states withO//l comprehensh'e, stateH'ide gmllluhnJter regulations, 7