Today's Law As Amended


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SB-832 Water rights: measurement of diversion.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 27 is added to the Water Code, to read:

27.
 “Water year,” unless otherwise specified, means the 12-month period beginning October 1 and ending September 30.

SEC. 2.

 Section 1840 of the Water Code is amended to read:

1840.
 (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person  diverter, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 931 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations  who, on or after January 1, 2016, diverts 10 acre-feet or more  of water per year or more under a permit or license  shall install and maintain a device or employ a method capable of measuring the rate of direct diversion, rate of collection to storage, and rate of withdrawal or release from storage. The measurements shall be made  diverter shall take the measurements  using the best available technologies and best professional practices, as defined in Section 5100, using a device or methods satisfactory to the board, as follows:
(A) A device shall be capable of continuous monitoring of the rate and quantity of water diverted and shall be properly maintained. The permittee or licensee  diverter  shall provide the board with evidence that the device has been installed with the first report submitted after installation of the device. The permittee or licensee  diverter  shall provide the board with evidence demonstrating that the device is functioning properly as part of the reports submitted at five-year intervals after the report documenting installation of the device, or upon request of the board.
(B) In developing regulations pursuant to Section 1841, the board shall consider devices and methods that provide accurate measurement of the total amount of water  diverted and the rate of diversion. The board shall consider devices and methods that provide accurate measurements within an acceptable range of error, including the following:
(i) Electricity records dedicated to a pump and recent pump test.
(ii) Staff gage calibrated with an acceptable streamflow rating curve.
(iii) Staff gage calibrated for a flume or weir.
(iv) Staff gage calibrated with an acceptable storage capacity curve.
(v) Pressure transducer and acceptable storage capacity curve.
(2) The permittee or licensee  diverter  shall maintain a record of all diversion monitoring that includes the date, time, and diversion rate at time intervals of one hour or less,  and the total amount of water diverted. These records shall be included with reports submitted under the permit or license,  submitted reports  as required under subdivision (c), or upon request of the state  board.
(b) (1) The state  board may modify the requirements of subdivision (a) upon finding either any  of the following:
(A) That strict compliance with the requirements of subdivision (a)  is infeasible, is unreasonably expensive, would unreasonably affect public trust uses, or would result in the waste or unreasonable use of water.
(B) That the need for monitoring and reporting is adequately addressed by other conditions of the permit or license. a registration, permit, or authorizing the diversion of water. 
(C) The permittee or licensee is participating in a study pursuant to Section 1840.5.
(2) The state  board may increase the 10-acre-foot reporting threshold of subdivision (a) in a watershed or subwatershed, subwatershed  after considering the diversion reporting threshold in relation to quantity of water within the watershed or subwatershed. The state  board may increase the 10-acre-foot reporting threshold to 25 acre-feet or above  more of water per year  if it finds that the benefits of the additional information within the watershed or subwatershed are substantially outweighed by the cost of installing measuring devices or employing methods for measurement for diversions at the 10-acre-foot threshold.
(c) At least annually, a person who diverts water under a registration, permit, or license  and consistent with the reporting periods provided in subdivision (b) of Section 5101 and the regulations adopted by the state board, diverters  shall report to the state  board all of  the following information:
(1) The quantity of water diverted by month.
(2) The maximum rate of diversion by months month  in the preceding calendar water  year.
(3) The information required by subdivision (a), if applicable.
(4) The amount of water used, if any, for cannabis cultivation.
(d) Compliance with the applicable requirements of this section is a condition of every registration, permit, or license.

SEC. 3.

 Section 1840.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:

1840.5.
 (a) The state board shall develop and administer a study to determine the ability of evapotranspiration alone, or in combination with other methodologies, to provide the information needed to monitor water diversions, including, but not limited to, rates, amounts, and timing from various points of diversion, with the equivalent accuracy as would be provided under regulations for diversions measured under Section 1840.
(b) The study shall be developed in collaboration with water diverters, stakeholders, and other interested parties, and shall include all of the following:
(1) Sites representing a diverse range of agricultural regions, soil types, and land elevations.
(2) Provisions ensuring each study site includes a sufficient number of meters or other measurement methods that meet the requirements of Section 1840 on a representative sample of points of diversion.
(3) Provisions requiring the meters or other measurement methods be operated for a minimum of five years.
(c) The study shall be limited to sites where all of the following apply:
(1) The beneficial use of the water right is for irrigation of farmland with surface water.
(2) The water right is for direct diversion only and not for diversion to, or release from, operable storage.
(3) Runoff and tailwater from application of the diverted water returns to the same surface water source from which the water was diverted, without reservation of dominion and control.
(4) Unmeasured conveyance losses of water from the point of diversion to the point of return to the same surface water source from which the water was diverted are shown to be negligible or can be estimated using a methodology approved by the state board.
(d) The study shall include various methodologies that meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Crop evapotranspiration within the water right’s georeferenced place of use is calculated and reported by means of a remote sensing methodology.
(2) The state board finds the methodology is sufficiently documented to ensure the results are scientifically sound and accurate.
(3) Data supporting the estimates and the estimates themselves are publicly and freely available.
(e) A draft of the study and its results shall be subject to independent scientific review, evaluation, and critique.
(f) The state board shall provide the Legislature with a report documenting the study, its results, and the findings of the independent review on or before January 1, 2028.
(g) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under subdivision (f) is inoperative on January 1, 2032, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (f) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.