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property rights."3 But the "vested" nature of such rights is being steadily eroded, and with it, the reliability of California's water supply. Regulation through the courts and administrative agencies applying the federal Endangered Species Act, provisions of the California Fish and Game Code, and the federal Clean Water Act, to say nothing of the public trust doctrine, have greatly reduced the amounts of water available to supply cities and farms. By regulation, the "rights" to such water supplies are being reallocated for envi- ronmental purposes. While certainly there is widespread support in the State for the protection of our fish and wildlife resources, the full impact of these newer statutes on water supply is not generally understood. The public has yet to realize that restricting diversions to provide water for instream uses has cut deeply into the supplies developed by earlier generations to carry the State through drought periods, and to meet future growth needs. The reconciliation of environmental water demands with the water needs offarms and cities now stands as the great issue for the future. No single approach to this dilemma is likely to be successful. However, perhaps establishing a secure funding source that would provide for the acquisition of water rights for environmental pur- poses, through voluntary water transfers or participation in water supply projects, would begin to take us off the present path of destructive conflict. The new federal Central Valley Improvement Act (PI. 102-575; 106 Stat. 4600 ~ 3401) makes a start at providing money for environmental improvements, establishing a restoration fund of up to $50 million per year to be financed in part by charges against water users.4 California's rich history has always been tied to its water sup- ply. It is that supply which has led to the State's growth and pros- perity, and to how and where urbanization has taken place-maybe more so in California than anywhere else in North America. Water will be no less vital in the future. We hope that this book will help to 3 Final Report, page 16. The Commission was chaired by the then recently retired Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, the Honorable Donald R. Wright. I served as one of the two practicing lawyers on the Commission. 4 In draft Water Right Decision 1630, December 1992, the California State Water Resources Control Board also established a fund to mitigate the impacts of water use from the Delta watershed on public trust resources. All major diverters from the Delta and upstream tributaries were made subject to a charge of$5 or $10 an acre foot, including DWR for the State Water Project. the City of San Francisco, and the East Bay Municipal Utility District. This draft Decision, however, was withdrawn. vii