SECTIONS 1810-1814 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 1810-1814

1810. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the
state, nor any regional or local public agency may deny a bona fide
transferor of water the use of a water conveyance facility which has
unused capacity, for the period of time for which that capacity is
available, if fair compensation is paid for that use, subject to the
following:
(a) Any person or public agency that has a long-term water service
contract with or the right to receive water from the owner of the
conveyance facility shall have the right to use any unused capacity
prior to any bona fide transferor.
(b) The commingling of transferred water does not result in a
diminution of the beneficial uses or quality of the water in the
facility, except that the transferor may, at the transferor's own
expense, provide for treatment to prevent the diminution, and the
transferred water is of substantially the same quality as the water
in the facility.
(c) Any person or public agency that has a water service contract
with or the right to receive water from the owner of the conveyance
facility who has an emergency need may utilize the unused capacity
that was made available pursuant to this section for the duration of
the emergency.
(d) This use of a water conveyance facility is to be made without
injuring any legal user of water and without unreasonably affecting
fish, wildlife, or other instream beneficial uses and without
unreasonably affecting the overall economy or the environment of the
county from which the water is being transferred.

1811. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Bona fide transferor" means a person or public agency as
defined in Section 20009 of the Government Code with a contract for
sale of water that may be conditioned upon the acquisition of
conveyance facility capacity to convey the water that is the subject
of the contract.
(b) "Emergency" means a sudden occurrence such as a storm, flood,
fire, or an unexpected equipment outage impairing the ability of a
person or public agency to make water deliveries.
(c) "Fair compensation" means the reasonable charges incurred by
the owner of the conveyance system, including capital, operation,
maintenance, and replacement costs, increased costs from any
necessitated purchase of supplemental power, and including reasonable
credit for any offsetting benefits for the use of the conveyance
system.
(d) "Replacement costs" mean the reasonable portion of costs
associated with material acquisition for the correction of
irreparable wear or other deterioration of conveyance facility parts
that have an anticipated life that is less than the conveyance
facility repayment period and which costs are attributable to the
proposed use.
(e) "Unused capacity" means space that is available within the
operational limits of the conveyance system and that the owner is not
using during the period for which the transfer is proposed and which
space is sufficient to convey the quantity of water proposed to be
transferred.

1812. The state, regional, or local public agency owning the water
conveyance facility shall in a timely manner determine the following:
(a) The amount and availability of unused capacity.
(b) The terms and conditions, including operation and maintenance
requirements and scheduling, quality requirements, term or use,
priorities, and fair compensation.

1813. In making the determinations required by this article, the
respective public agency shall act in a reasonable manner consistent
with the requirements of law to facilitate the voluntary sale, lease,
or exchange of water and shall support its determinations by written
findings. In any judicial action challenging any determination made
under this article the court shall consider all relevant evidence,
and the court shall give due consideration to the purposes and
policies of this article. In any such case the court shall sustain
the determination of the public agency if it finds that the
determination is supported by substantial evidence.

1814. This article shall apply to only 70 percent of the unused
capacity.