SECTIONS 60230-60232 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 60230-60232

60230. For the purposes of replenishing the groundwater supplies
within the district, a district shall have power:
(a) To have perpetual succession.
(b) To sue and be sued, except as otherwise provided in this
division or by law, in all actions and proceedings in all courts and
tribunals.
(c) To adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.
(d) To take by grant, purchase, gift, devise, or lease, to hold,
use and enjoy, and to lease, convey or dispose of, real and personal
property of every kind, within or without the district, necessary or
convenient to the full exercise of its power.
(e) Within or outside of the district to construct, purchase,
lease, or otherwise acquire, and to operate and maintain necessary
waterworks and other works, machinery and facilities, canals,
conduits, waters, water rights, spreading grounds, lands, rights and
privileges useful or necessary to replenish the underground water
basin within the district, or to augment the common water supplies of
the district, including, but not limited to, the exercise of any
power under Section 60224.
(f) For the common benefit of the district, to store water in
underground water basins or reservoirs within or outside of the
district, to appropriate and acquire water and water rights within or
outside of the district, to import water into the district, and to
conserve water within or outside of the district.
(g) To carry out the purposes of this division, to commence,
maintain, intervene in, defend and compromise, in the name of the
district, or otherwise, and to assume the costs and expenses of any
and all actions and proceedings now or hereafter begun to determine
or adjudicate all or a portion of the rights to divert, extract, or
use waters within the district, or within any segments thereof or
subbasins therein, as between owners of or claimants to those rights,
to prevent any interference with water or water rights used or
useful to the lands, inhabitants, owners, operators, or producers
within the district, or to prevent the diminution of the quantity or
quality of the water supply of the district, or to prevent unlawful
exportation of water from the district.
(h) To exercise the right of eminent domain to take any property
necessary to supply the district or any portion thereof with
replenishment water, including, but not limited to, the exercise of
any power under Section 60224, except that the right of eminent
domain may not be exercised with respect to (1) water and water
rights already devoted to beneficial use, and (2) property (other
than water and water rights) already appropriated to public use
unless the taking be for a more necessary public use than that to
which the property is already appropriated; provided that the
district in exercising that power shall in addition to the damage for
taking, injuring, or destruction of property also pay the cost of
removal, reconstruction, or relocation of any structure, including,
but not limited to, railways, mains, pipes, conduits, wires, cables,
towers, or poles of any public utility which is required to be
removed to a new location. No use by a district of property owned, at
the time the action to condemn is brought, by an existing agency
having powers to provide for the replenishment of groundwater, shall
constitute a more necessary public use than the use to which the
property is already appropriated.
A district shall not exercise the right of eminent domain to
acquire property outside the boundaries of the principal county in
which the district is situated unless it first obtains the consent
thereto of the board of supervisors of the county in which the
property is located.
(i) To act jointly with or cooperate with the United States or any
agency thereof, and cooperate and act jointly with the state, or any
county or agency thereof, or any political subdivision or district
therein, including flood control districts, public and private
corporations, and any person, to the end that the purposes and
activities of the district may be fully and economically performed.
(j) To cause assessments and charges to be levied as provided in
this division to accomplish the purposes of this division and to
maintain such reserve funds for the future purchase of water for
replenishment purposes as may be authorized to be levied.
(k) To make contracts, employ labor, and do all acts necessary for
the full exercise of the foregoing powers.
(l) To carry on technical and other investigations of all kinds,
necessary to carry out the provisions of this division, and for this
purpose the district shall have the right of access through its
authorized representative to all properties within the district.
(m) To borrow money and incur indebtedness and to issue bonds or
other evidences of that indebtedness; to refund or retire any
indebtedness or lien that may exist against the district or property
thereof; to issue warrants to pay the formation expenses of the
district, which may bear interest at a rate not exceeding 6 percent a
year from the date of issue until funds are available to pay the
warrants, and which formation expenses may include fees of attorneys
and others employed to conduct the formation proceedings, but shall
not include the expenses of holding and conducting the formation
election.
(n) To cause taxes to be levied, in the manner provided in this
division, for the purpose of paying any obligation of the district,
including its formation expenses and any warrants issued therefor.
(o) To fix the rates at which water shall be sold for
replenishment purposes, and to establish different rates for
different classes of service or conditions of service, provided the
rates shall be uniform for like classes and conditions of service.
(p) To fix the terms and conditions of any contract under which
producers may agree voluntarily to use replenishment water from a
nontributary source in lieu of groundwater, and to that end a
district may become a party to the contract and pay from district
funds that portion of the cost of the replenishment waters as will
encourage the purchase and use of that water in lieu of pumping so
long as the persons or property within the district are directly or
indirectly benefited by the resulting replenishment.

60230.5. All expenditures for construction work, materials,
equipment and supplies, and professional services, including, but not
limited to, legal, legislative, public affairs, public relations,
and engineering services, regardless of price shall be made pursuant
to contract. All district contracts shall be in writing in a form
prescribed by the general manager and approved by the general
counsel. At minimum, each contract shall include the relevant scope
of work, duration, and terms of payment.

60231. (a) The powers and duties herein enumerated, except as
otherwise expressly provided, shall be exercised and performed by the
board of the district. If an existing agency has facilities
available and adequate to accomplish any part of the purposes of a
district created under this act, the district shall investigate and
determine the cost of contracting for the accomplishment of that
purpose through that existing agency. Thereupon, the board shall make
a finding , by resolution and supported by evidence, whether or not
the purpose proposed to be accomplished by the district can be
achieved more economically and for the best interests of the area to
be benefited by entering into such a contract with an existing
agency. If the board finds that such contract is more economical and
for the best interests of the area to be benefited, it shall so
contract for the accomplishment of said purpose, if such agency so
agrees. The purpose of this section is to avoid duplication of
similar operations by existing agencies and replenishment districts.
(b) Prior to constructing, leasing, purchasing, or contracting for
a capital improvement project, a district shall determine the
feasibility of such a project by ordering or preparing and reviewing
a cost-benefit analysis based upon reasonable assumptions.

60232. Each district has the power generally to perform all acts
necessary to carry out fully the provisions of this act.