SECTIONS 31000-31016 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 31000-31016

31000. County water districts shall be managed under the provisions
of this division and may exercise the powers therein expressly
granted or necessarily implied therefrom.

31001. Each district has the power generally to perform all acts
necessary to carry out fully the provisions of this division.

31002. A district has perpetual succession.

31003. A district may adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.

31004. A district may make contracts and employ labor to carry out
the purposes of the district.

31005. A district may have construction or other work performed by
contract or may do the work under its own superintendence.

31006. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any district
formed under this division may, by resolution of the board of the
district spread on its minutes, change the name of the district. That
changed name need not include the word "county."
Certified copies of the resolution changing the name of the
district shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of
every county, included in whole or in part, in the district and sent
to the department.

31007. The rates and charges to be collected by the district shall
be so fixed as to yield an amount sufficient to do each of the
following:
(a) Pay the operating expenses of the district.
(b) Provide for repairs and depreciation of works owned or
operated by the district.
(c) Pay the interest on any bonded debt.
(d) So far as possible, provide a fund for the payment of the
principal of the bonded debt as it becomes due.
It is intended by this section to require the district to pay the
interest and principal of its bonded debt from the revenues of the
district, except that this requirement is not intended to apply to a
bonded debt for sewage disposal purposes.

31007.5. No district furnishing water for residential use to a
tenant shall seek to recover any charges or penalties for the
furnishing of water to or for the tenant's residential use from any
subsequent tenant on account of nonpayment of charges by a previous
tenant. The district may, however, require that service to subsequent
tenants be furnished on the account of the landlord or property
owner.

31008. A district may provide for the pension of officers or
employees and the creation of a special fund for the purpose of
paying such pension and the accumulation of contributions to said
fund from the revenues of the district, the wages of officers or
employees, voluntary contributions, gifts, donations, or any source
of revenue, not inconsistent with the general powers of the board,
and may contract with any insurance corporation or any other
insurance carrier for the establishment and maintenance of group
insurance, a system of group annuities, and a pension service for
such officers and employees, and may provide for the terms and
conditions under which such pensions, group insurance, or group
annuities shall be allowed, and for the time and extent of service of
officers or employees before such pensions, group insurance, or
group annuities shall be available to them.

31009. In any district authorized to provide fire protection
services, the district board is authorized to enforce the provisions
of Sections 4291 to 4296, inclusive, of the Public Resources Code.

31010. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 5.5 (commencing
with Section 1450) of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code,
any district and any county may enter into a contract agreeing to pay
and apportion between them the costs of locating, removing,
repairing, or relocating any facilities owned or to be owned by
either party on the roads or other property of the other in such
proportion and upon such terms as the governing boards of the parties
shall determine to be equitable.
This section shall not supersede the provisions of Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 7030) of Division 4 of this code.

31011. A district may disseminate information to the public
concerning the rights, properties, and activities of the district.

31012. If, on or after the effective date of this section,
substantially all of a district water system is acquired by another
public agency by any method other than a vote of the electorate of
that district so authorizing, the following provisions shall apply:
(a) All funds derived from the operation of the former district
system shall be separately accounted for and used exclusively for the
purposes of maintenance, operation, betterments, and bond debt
service of the acquired system.
(b) No funds derived from the former district system shall be used
for any other such purpose until all debt of that former system has
been paid in full or until a majority vote of the electorate of the
area served by that former system has authorized such other
expenditures.

31013. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Mammoth
County Water District may operate a propane gas distribution service
for residents of the district and may do any act necessary to furnish
sufficient propane gas to residents of the district.
The provisions of this section are necessary because of the great
need for propane gas service within the area of the Mammoth County
Water District. There is no other local governmental entity willing
to provide such service to the people of the district. This problem
is not common to all districts formed under this division. It is
therefore hereby declared that a general law cannot be made
applicable and that the enactment of this section as a special law is
necessary for the solution of problems existing in the Mammoth
County Water District.

31013.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Mammoth Community Water District may acquire property and construct,
maintain, operate, sell, and lease facilities, including, but not
limited to, wells, plants, and pipes for the distribution of heated
water or steam, that are necessary to develop, extract, and
distribute geothermal water resources in order to provide space
heating for buildings and other facilities within the boundaries of
the district.
(b) The district may finance the acquisition of property and the
construction of facilities under this section by utilizing the same
financing methods that are available to the district under this
division to finance water facilities.
(c) The powers granted by other provisions of this division may be
exercised by the district in connection with the authority granted
to the district under this section.

31014. Subject to the consent of the governing body of the county
or city having jurisdiction over the highway or street, the
Juniper-Riviera County Water District may open, widen, extend,
straighten, surface, or otherwise improve and maintain, in whole or
in part, that highway or street, as the case may be, in such
district.
This special provision is necessary because of special
circumstances in the area served by the Juniper-Riviera County Water
District. This area is located in a sparsely populated desert area,
and the people of the county have an urgent and immediate need for
improved and maintained roads within the boundaries of this county
water district. The people of the county would be substantially
benefited by having road improvement and maintenance provided by the
existing district instead of by the formation of other and additional
districts. It is, therefore, hereby declared that a general law
cannot be made applicable and that this enactment is necessary for
the solution of problems within the Juniper-Riviera County Water
District.

31014.5. The term "irrigation district" as used in Chapter 1046 of
the Statutes of 1969 includes a county water district and the Orange
County Water District.

31015. The Sierra Lakes County Water District shall not exercise
any of the powers and purposes set forth in Article 7 (commencing
with Section 31120), Article 8 (commencing with Section 31130), and
Article 9 (commencing with Section 31135).

31016. (a) In order to enforce the provisions of any ordinance of
the district, including an ordinance fixing charges for the
furnishing of commodities or services, the district may correct any
violation of an ordinance of the district. The district may also
petition the superior court for the issuance of a preliminary or
permanent injunction, or both, as may be appropriate, restraining any
person from the continued violation of any ordinance of the district
or for the issuance of an order stopping or disconnecting a service
if the charges for that service are unpaid at the time specified in
the ordinance.
(b) The district may enter upon the private property of any person
within the jurisdiction of the district in order to investigate
possible violations of an ordinance of the district. The
investigation shall be made with consent of the owner or tenant of
the property or, if consent is refused, with a warrant duly issued
pursuant to the procedures set forth in Title 13 (commencing with
Section 1822.50) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except
that, notwithstanding Section 1822.52 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
the warrant shall be issued only upon probable cause.
(c) The district shall notify the county or city building
inspector, county health inspector, or other affected county or city
employee or office, in writing, within a reasonable time if an actual
violation of a district, city, or county ordinance is discovered
during the investigation.