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

Forfeiture. All or part of an appropriative right may also be lost
if the water is not put to a reasonable, beneficial use. Water Code
~ 1240. A right which has been acquired under the current appro-
priation permit system may be lost by five years of nonuse, after
which the water may be appropriated by another party. Water Code
~ 1241. Appropriative rights held nnder the Civil Code were also
determined to be lost if not used over a five-year period. Smith v.
Hawkins (1895) 110 Cal. 122, 127. Currently a hearing is required
prior to forfeiture.
Statutory adjudication procedure. A statutory procedure exists for
adjudicating the rights of all claimants to the use of water in a stream
system for both riparian and appropriative rights. Water Code ~ 2500
et seq. The purpose of an adjudication process is to allow the State
Board to make a determination of the rights to a stream system,
which includes streams, lakes, or other bodies of water and tribu-
taries. Water Code ~ 2500. The proceeding is triggered by a petition
from a water right holder on the stream system. Water Code ~ 2525.
The State Board, if it agrees to the adjudication, eventually adopts
an order establishing rights to the water. Water Code ~ 2700. The
superior court then conducts a hearing and issues a decree estab-
lishing all rights to use of the water in the stream, the priority of the
right, and the place of use. Water Code ~ 2769. Any claimant who
does not submit a proof of claim during the adjudication process is
prevented from subsequently asserting rights, leading to a forfeiture
of rights not reflected in the court's decree. (Water Code ~ 2774.)

Underground Water Rights

Introduction_ Groundwater contributes approximately 15 million acre-
feet annually to satisfy California's water needs. However, it is esti-
mated that state groundwater basins are annually overdrafted by
some 1.3 million acre-feetl1 Overdraft means that the amount of
water extracted from a groundwater basin is beyond the "safe yield"
of the basin, which is typically equivalent to the long-term recharge.
Despite the severe overdraft of many basins in California,
groundwater is not regulated under a statewide permit system, in
contrast to the procedures for appropriating surface water. Most
property owners with land overlying groundwater can simply drill
wells and extract water. No state pennission is required. These users
then share the use of the groundwater supply with the other overlying

11 California Water Plan Update. Department of Water Resources Bulletin
160-93, October 1994, volume 1, page 81.

Groundwater supplies account for about
15 million acre.feet afCalifornia's annual
water needs.

The state's groundwater basins are being
overdrafted by approximately 1.3 million
acre-feet a year.

State permission is not required to drill a
well and pump groundwater.

Chapter 2 Water Rights in California 47