Water Boards: DWR - Records and Recordation Program

The Groundwater Recordation Program has been around for about 50 years (Water Code, section 4999, et. seq.) and only applies to Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties. This reporting program requires those persons with wells that extract more than 25 acre-feet of groundwater to "enroll." Enrollment occurs when the groundwater extractor submits a completed “First Notice – Groundwater Diversion” form. Groundwater extractors can now report their annual groundwater use to the designated local agencies listed below or to the State.

Local Agency Delegation Process

In April 2006, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) delegated authority to the Division of Water Rights (Division) to designate local agencies the oversight of the Groundwater Recordation Program. If a groundwater extractor is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of one of the six local agencies (identified below), the groundwater extractor will be responsible for sending in their annual notices and any accompanying fees to the respective local agency. Each local agency will establish whether to require an annual fee and the amount of that fee. To date, the Division has delegated oversight of the Groundwater Recordation Program to the following local agencies:

(Note: San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency and Western Municipal Water District are working as a cooperative; United Water Conservation District and Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency are working as a cooperative)

The Water Code requires that groundwater extractors report their annual groundwater use to the state. The Division sends out blank Annual Notice forms to known groundwater extractors, which are to be completed and submitted back to the Division by June 30 for the preceding calendar year. Beginning in 2006, the Division will mail out Annual Notice forms to those groundwater extractors that are within Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties, but outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the local agencies identified above. The Division will mail out Annual Notice forms for the previous year, during the first calendar quarter of each year (i.e., 2006 Annual Notice forms will be mailed out during the first quarter 2007). This groundwater cycle process will be repeated each year for reporting the previous year of groundwater use.

Each Annual Notice submitted to the Division must be accompanied by the annual Groundwater Recordation Fee adopted by the State Water Board each fiscal year. For more information about the annual Groundwater Recordation Fee for the present fiscal year, please see the following web site: http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/fees/.