PUB00109

• Year: 1995
• Title: Califormia Water
• CWCB Section: Interstate & Federal
• Author: Arthur L. Littlewort
• Description: History, overview, and explanation of water rights and legislation of California
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

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1976). While preserving riparian rights, Article X, Section 2, declares
that the right to the use or flow of water in or from any natural stream
or watercourse in California is limited to water reasonably required
for beneficial use. The 1928 amendment read, in pertinent part-

H is hereby declared because of the conditions prevailing in tbis
State the general welfare requires that the water resources of the
State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are
capable, and that the waste Of unreasonable use or unreasonable
method of USe of water be prevented, and tbat the conservation of
such waters is to be exercised with a view to the reasonable and
beneficial USe thereof in tbe interest of the people and for tbe pub-
lic welfare. The right to water or to tbe use or flow of water in or
from any natural stream or watercourse in this State is and shall
be limited to such water as shall be reasonably required for the
beneficial USe to be served, and such right does not and shall not
extend to th~ waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method
of use or ulU'easonable method of diversion of water, . . .

Specifically addr"ssing riparian rights, the amendment continued-

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 section, for the purpose for which such lands
are or may be made adaptable, in view of such reasonable and ben-
eficial uses; provided. however, that nothing herein contained shall
be construed as depriving any riparian owner of the reasonable use
ofwater of the stream to which his land is riparian under reasonable
metbods of diversion and use.... Cal. Const. art. X, ~ 2.

As a result, riparian rights in a watercourse continued to exist,
but riparian use was required to be reasonable with regard to other
water users, whether riparian or appropriative. One court stated that-

The primary purpose of the amendment was to modify the existing
riparian dottrine of this state, and apply the rule of reasonable-
ness of use to water controversies between a riparian owner and
an appropriator, thus extending the application of that rule to every
water right and to every method of diversion. State of California
v. Hansen (1961) 189 Cal.App.2d 604, 609.

Nature and Extent of Riparian Right
Waters to which the riparian right attaches. Water rights, termed
"usufructuary rights," do not actually extend to ownership of the
corpus of water as it flows in the stream, but extend only to the US"
of water. Rancho Santa Margarita v. Vail (1938) 11 Cal.2d, 501,
554-555. Riparian rights confer upon the owner of land contiguous

32 CAI.IF.bRNIA WATER