General Questions

In late spring of 2013, spurred by fish kills resulting from illegal and poorly constructed water diversions in both China Creek and Seely Creek (tributaries of Redwood Creek on the South Fork Eel River), the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Division of Water Rights issued notices of “Potential Unauthorized Diversion and Use of Water” and “Failure to File a Statement of Water Diversion and Use in Humboldt County” to dozens of landowners in the China Creek watershed. This incident brought to light that hundreds of landowners on the North Coast are not in compliance with state water law and thereby vulnerable to enforcement, especially if their water diversions may harm state and/or federally listed fish.

Established as a legal means for protecting our rivers as a shared resource and public trust value, water diversion permitting requirements have existed in California for many years, but historically were not enforced in Humboldt County until recently. Prior to the enforcement sweep, many landowners were not aware they had to report their water diversions and register their storage water rights to comply with state water law and avoid potentially onerous fines.

SRF is working to provide hands-on assistance to rural landowners who are interested in complying with state water law. The Water Rights Education Campaign is an ongoing component of The Redwood Creek Water Conservation Project, a local effort initiated in 2013 to address low stream flows that affect local residents and fish.

Yes. You can call the State Water Board Division of Water Rights and speak with Matt McCarthy ((916) 341-5310) for questions relating to diversion of water. You won’t be required to give any personal information over the phone.

With a system of forbearance we can determine when diversions need to be stopped to keep enough water in the streams for the fish. Sanctuary Forest has a great monitoring program that alerts when pools are disconnecting and at that point diversions are shut off. Other ways to determine forbearance dates are with a calendar system – we know the typical dry months and when stream levels start getting low, or with local gauges. Sometimes the type of forbearance system is the landowner’s choice.

No.

If you divert water, you should file a Statement of Diversion and Use. The State Water Board will determine whether your riparian claim is valid or not. If it’s not, they will notify you and ask that you either acquire an appropriative right or cease diversion.

If you are actively pursuing a valid basis of right you will be low on the State Water Resource Control Board's enforcement priority list. Their enforcement capacity is limited.

The State Water Resources Control Board sets the registration fees; the first-time application is $250, and then $100 every five years. If DFW requires a 1600 permit, there are fees associated with that which are typically minimal and based on the cost of your project. The State Water Resources Control Board fees pay for the maintenance of the program. DFW fees do not bring in a profit for the organization and are a 5 year agreement and can only be increased with your renewal every five years.

There are two forms of appropriative water rights – registration certificates and permits & licenses. The registration program is designed to be efficient and takes roughly 120 days from the time you file to the time you receive your right. An appropriative permit can take 3 – 5 years. If you currently have a valid riparian claim and want to move toward storing winter water, you can dedicate your riparian right to DFW to protect it from appropriation while waiting for your appropriative permit. This action will also move you to the top of the list of applications to be processed.

If you are filling for a new statement this year, you are filling for the diversion that took place during the previous year. You need to meet measurement requirements with a measuring device or by indicating that it is not locally cost effective and indicating which alternative methods of measurement you use.

While California’s Drought Emergency declaration is in effect, the Emergency Tank Storage Registration program will enable landowners to register their storage without a 1600 Agreement or a site inspection from CDFW as long as they meet the general criteria which includes filing your riparian and appropriative rights with the State Water Board, utilizing rigid tanks (not bladder tanks), and voluntarily forbearing from pumping or filling water tanks for 60 days. If you are filing because of an enforcement action or because you have already been notified that you are not in compliance with State Water Law, you will not be able to qualify for this streamlining option.

Please see the Process Guide for Registration of Small Domestic Use Appropriation.