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The public trust doctrine applied to water law was a legal theory whose time had come. 72 CALIFORNIA WATER beneficial use to the fullest extent possible. The requirement of reasonable use has modified many uses of water in California. Because of this concept, a use cannot simply be beneficial but must also be reasonable considering the alternative uses that can be made of the water. A user with a higher priority can be forced to share water with a junior user if all of the senior's use is not reasonable. Fish and Game Code Sections 5937 and 5946 have been significant primarily in the litigation surrounding the diversions by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. However, they are applicable to many streams and rivers in the state. A satisfactory method for resolving the competing demands for water between consumptive and environmental users has not been found. Currently, these disputes are resolved through litigation, a process examined in the context of the decision in Environmental Defense Fund v. East Bay Municipal Utility District. Super. Ct. Alameda County, 1990, No. 425955. The Public Trust Doctrine The application of the public trust doctrine in modern water law is a direct result of the work of Professor Joseph Sax, formerly a pro- fessor of law at Boalt Hall, University of California at Berkeley. In 1970, Professor Sax wrote an article entitled "The Public Trust Doc- trine in Natural Resource Law: Effective Judicial Intervention" (Volume 68, Mich. L.Rel'. 471). Between 1970 and 1985, approxi- mately 100 cases were reported involving the public trust doctrine, many of which cited Professor Sax's article.1lt is hard to imagine a more intense judicial response to a single article; the public trust doctrine was a legal theory whose time had come. In his article, Professor Sax frankly described his interest in the public trust doctrine- Of all the concepts koown to American law, only the public trust doctrine [citation omitted] seems to have the breadth and substan- tive content which might make it useful as a tool of general appli- cation for citizens seeking to develop a comprehensive legal approach to resource management problems. If that doctrine is to provide a satisfactory tool, it must meet three criteria. rt must con- tain some concept of a legal right in the general public; it must be enforceable against the government (footnote omitted); and it must 1 Lazarus, "Changing Conceptions of Property and Sovereignty in Natural Resources: Questioning the Public Trust Doctrine," 1968, 71 Iowa L.Rev., pages 631, 644.