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<br />r- <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />r <br /> <br />\: <br /> <br />not declare that they have no rights to the water because they <br />cannot demonstrate a need for the water. <br /> <br />In 1980, the Legislature also enacted legislation <br />authorizing short-term temporary changes and trial transfers of <br />water. section 1729 defines a temporary change as "any change of <br />point of diversion, place of use, or purpose of use involving a <br />transfer or exchange of water or water rights for a period of one <br />year or less. xg. S 1729. The purpose of this legislation was <br />to allow temporary transfers of water without formal approval of <br />the Board. Thus, a temporary change becomes effective 30 days <br />after the parties notify the Board of the transfer, unless the <br />Board objects. xg. S 1727. The Code also provides that <br />temporary transfers may "only involve the amount of water used by <br />the [transferor]" and may not "injure any legal user of water <br />. [or] unreasonably affect fish, wildlife, or other instream <br />beneficial uses." Id. S 1725. <br /> <br />Trial transfers were designed to be "test runs" for proposed <br />long-term transfers. They are limited to a term of one year and <br />require the approval of the Board. lQ. S 1735. The Board may <br />authorize a trial transfer if it concludes that "substantial <br />injury to any legal user of water is unlikely to occur, [and) <br />that such a transfer would not unreasonably affect fish, <br />wildlife, or other instream uses," even though the Board is <br />unable to determine in advance the precise effects of the <br />transfer. 14. Following the trial period and after providing <br />notice and an opportunity for a public hearing, the Board may <br />convert the trial transfer into a long-term transfer. Id. S <br />1738. <br /> <br />II. WATER TRANSFER ACTIVITY <br /> <br />Notwithstanding this strong legislative encouragement, there <br />have been no long-term transfers of water in California since <br />1980. Indeed, during the study period of 1975 through 1984, <br />there has been relatively little transfer activity in the state. <br /> <br />'A. Transfers Sub-;ect to Aporoval BY the state Water <br />Resources Control Board <br /> <br />From 1980 through the present, the state Water Resources <br />Control Board approved eleven temporary transfers, one trial <br />transfer, and one temporary urgency change. During this same <br />period it rejected one application for a temporary transfer, and <br />one petition for a trial transfer was voluntarily withdrawn. <br />with two exceptions, these transfers have involved very small <br />quantities of water--ranging from 18 acre feet to 5,000 acre <br />feet. <br /> <br />The exceptions are two transfers from the Yuba County Water <br /> <br />- 2 - <br />