Water Rights Law

Updated 2005. The 20-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as the most thorough explanation of water rights law available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing in a stream, from a faucet or into an irrigation ditch through the complex web of California water rights. The history of California’s water rights law is traced from the Spanish pueblo public rights, through appropriative water rights in the Gold Rush era, and from England’s heritage of riparian water rights to the emergence of the public trust doctrine and other court decisions in recent years. State and federal government authority to regulate water quality and allocate water rights also is discussed in the guide. Order in bulk (10 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced fee. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.