SWRCB-DWR FAQS

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This document will be updated periodically. The last update to this document was 9/29/07.

A water right is legal permission to use a reasonable amount of water for a beneficial purpose such as swimming, fishing, farming or industry.

If you take water from a lake, river, stream, or creek, or from underground supplies for a beneficial use, the California Water Code (Division 2) requires that you have a water right. Because California water right law is complicated, you may have a water right even if you do not have a water right permit issued by the state.

There is one exception to the requirement that you have a water right. You do not need a water right if you take and use a small amount of water only for domestic purposes or use a small amount of water for commercial livestock watering purposes. However, you are required to register your use with the Division of Water Rights, notify the California Department of Fish and Game, and agree to follow conditions the Department of Fish and Game may set to protect fish and wildlife. The maximum use allowed under such a registration is 4,500 gallons per day for immediate use or 10 acre-feet per year for storage in a pond or reservoir. You cannot register to divert water from a stream if the Water Board has declared the stream to be fully appropriated . If you use more water than is allowed under a registration, or if you use a portion of the water for a purpose other than domestic purposes or livestock watering, and you do not already have a water right, you must apply for and receive a permit from the State Water Board’s Division of Water Rights before you can use water.

You should not assume that you have a water right just because you have a water diversion or a dam on your property. You can check with the Division of Water Rights to determine if you have a water right permit, license, certificate or registration, or if someone has claimed a water right for your water project.

Water is protected for the use and benefit of all Californians. California's waters cannot be owned by individuals, groups, businesses, or governmental agencies. But permits, licenses, and registrations give individuals and others the right to beneficially use reasonable amounts of water.

If your food was grown or raised by California farmers or ranchers, you depend on someone who either has a water right or buys water from a water supplier who has a water right (such as an irrigation district). If you live in the city or suburbs and drink, cook with, wash with, or water your yard with water, you are able to do so because your city has a water right or buys water from someone who has a water right. When you turn on your lights or use appliances in California, it is likely that at least some of the electricity you are using was generated by a power company that is able to operate a hydropower plant because it has a water right. If you swim, fish, or boat in a man-made lake or raft below a dam, you are able to do so because the dam owner has a water right.

In California, water rights law is administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (often called simply the State Water Board). Within the State Water Board, the Division of Water Rights acts on behalf of the State Water Board for day to day matters. The State Water Board is the only agency with authority to administer water rights in California. Local governments, water districts, and the California Regional Water Quality Control Boards do not administer water rights. The State Water Board shares the authority to enforce water right laws with the state courts.

Water rights laws help provide certainty that a water user will have water available in the future. Water rights are based on a priority system that is used to determine who can continue taking water when there is not enough water to supply all needs. Those with high priority rights know that they are likely to receive water. Those with low priority rights know that they may not receive water in all years and can plan accordingly. Water users make economic decisions based on the certainty of their water supply. For instance, farmers who have a high certainty of receiving water, even in dry years, plant permanent crops like fruit trees or vineyards, which can be sold for higher prices.

Water right permits also help protect the environment from impacts that occur as a result of water diversions. Water right permits include conditions to protect other water users and the environment. The water right permitting process can stop bad projects from starting, can modify poorly planned projects, and can protect existing streamflows. The water right permit process cannot by itself restore streams, but because the State Water Board has continuing authority over permits that it issues, it can modify permits and licenses it previously issued to require more protective conditions. The State Water Board must provide the permit or license holder with notice and opportunity for a hearing before making changes. If the permit holder disagrees with the State Water Board's decision to modify the permit, it can ask the court to review the matter.

No. Each state has different laws regarding how people can use the state’s water. All western states have enacted laws that require water users to get a permit from the state. In general, those laws provide the highest priority to the earliest water users. This is known as the “Doctrine of Prior Appropriation” and is sometimes called “first in time, first in right.” However, even in the west, the laws vary from state to state. Most eastern states, which have different rainfall patterns, do not have a permitting system. In those states, water is used under a principle of “share and share alike.”

The use of water without a water right is a trespass against the State of California and can lead to fines of up to $500 per day of use. If you are using water illegally, you can be required to stop taking and using water.

If you already have a water right, you do not need to apply for a permit. California law distinguishes between surface water and groundwater . To get a right to groundwater, you simply extract the water and use it for a beneficial purpose. There is one exception, which applies to “subterranean streams flowing in known and definite channels.” If you use groundwater on land that is over the groundwater basin from which you took the water, you have an “overlying groundwater right.” If you use the water somewhere else, you have an “appropriative groundwater right.” Overlying groundwater rights have a higher priority than appropriative groundwater rights. The State Water Board does not have authority to issue permits for groundwater diversions, except for diversions from subterranean streams. However, the state does have the authority to take action to stop wasteful or unreasonable uses of groundwater or to stop groundwater diversions that harm state resources, such as fisheries. If you live in certain areas and pump groundwater, you may be subject to regulation by a local entity, like the county or a groundwater management district, even if you do not need a water right permit. Check with local authorities before pumping.

Surface water rights are more complicated. California recognizes several different types of rights to take and use surface water. Some water rights can only be held by government. These include pueblo rights, which can only be held by municipalities that were originally Mexican or Spanish pueblos, and federal reserved rights, which can only be held by the federal government.

Individuals can hold riparian water rights, appropriative rights, and prescriptive water rights. If you began using surface water or groundwater from a subterranean stream after 1914, when the State Water Commission Act was enacted, unless you have a riparian right you must apply for and receive approval from the State Water Board before using water. If the state approves your application, you will receive a water right permit. The permit will allow you to develop your water supply project and to take and use water. After you have developed your project and used water, the State Water Board will determine how much water was beneficially used and will issue you a water right license. You can click here to see a flowchart of the water right permitting process.

What is a riparian right?

A riparian water right is a right to use the natural flow of water on riparian land. Riparian land is land that touches a lake, river, stream, or creek. Land that is in the public domain does not have riparian rights. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management manages public domain land.

Most eastern states recognize riparian rights. Most western states either never recognized riparian rights or no longer do so. California is the only western state that continues to recognize riparian rights. The California Legislature has enacted very few laws regarding riparian rights. As a result, riparian rights have been frequently litigated. As a result of these lawsuits, the courts have clarified rules that apply to riparian rights.

Water can only be diverted under a riparian right when that water is used on land that drains back to the lake, river, stream, or creek from which the water was taken. Only the natural flow of water can be diverted under a riparian right. Water that is imported into a watershed from another river , stream, or creek cannot be used under a riparian right. Water cannot be stored during a wet time for use during a drier time under a riparian right. Neither can water released from an upstream storage reservoir be used by a downstream user under a riparian right. Because a riparian right only allows the use of natural flow, it is possible to have water available under a riparian right during wetter years or months and not during drier years or months. This is common in California, because of the presence of many ephemeral streams.

A riparian right exists on the smallest piece of land that touches a water source. If riparian land is subdivided so that some parts of the land do not touch the water, those lands will lose their riparian rights unless steps are taken to preserve them when the subdivision takes place. Riparian rights that attach to a small parcel cannot be used on adjacent parcels, even