PUB00109 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

really a water-short State? How is our water used? How much do we need? What is the future role of the great aqueduct systems that have sustained California by moving water from the mountain snowpacks and rivers to major urban and agricultural areas: San Francisco's Hetch- Hetchy Project that takes water from the Tuolumne River near Yosemite; Los Angeles' Owens Valley system; the Mokelumne River aqueduct ofthe East Bay Municipal Utility District; the Colorado River aqueduct of The Metropolltan Water District of Southern California; the Federal Government's enormous Central Valley Project, supplying water primarily for agriculture; and finally, the State Water Project that stores Feather River water in Oroville Reservoir, releases it into the Sacramento River, and then diverts it from the San Francisco Bay-Delta to supply some 21,000,000 Californians. Anyone writing about water today must also consider the dramatic changes in law that have occurred in the last decade or more. Venerable court decisions that historically defined the rules governing riparian, appropriative and overlying water rights are now less relevant to California water issues than the Federal Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the public trust doctrine, "fixing" the Delta, the thicket of state and local regulations affecting water transfers, and the newly developing programs to manage local supplies. Moreover, the distinction between water rights and water quality has become increasingly blurred. It is the aim of this book, therefore, to meet a wide array of needs: to deal with current issues as well as the traditional concepts of water law; to provide at the same time some history and general background infonnation concerning our water supplies, their use and their development; and finally to produce a readable document that will be of value to more than just those in the legal profession. It is essentially a handbook on California water, and while there is a strong overview of water law, the book is not intended to provide a comprehensive legal analysis of any specific aspect of water law. There is always danger that a book treating current problems will soon be out of date. However, much of the historical and back- ground information in this book should enjoy a happier fate. For it is against these circumstances, at least as a starting point, that continu- ing developments need to be analyzed. Water law, and the principles guiding the allocation of our water supplies, are undergoing rapid changes. We used to think of a water "right" as an absolutely secure property right as long as the water was reasonably used. The Governor's Commission to Review California Water Rights Law in its 1978 Report confirmed the traditional rule that "Water rights are vi CALIFORNIA WATER