Farm Bureau Policies 2022
No. 309 Management and Use of Groundwaters and Groundwater Basins of California
NewWater “New water” is water that augments the water supply without adversely affecting other legal users of water. For example, new water would include (1) reductionof losses or flow to irretrievable orunusablebodiesofwater suchas salt sinks, theocean, orperched water tables, and (2) releases of previously storedwater that would not otherwisehave been released that is replacedby flood flows in the year(s) subsequent to its release. ConservedWater “Conserved water” is water that has been beneficially used where the consumptive use is reduced through changes in crop patterns or fallowing, reductionof non-cropwater use, or reduced evaporation. Consumptive use is water removed from the system through crop evapotranspiration. The water purveyor or water right holder should have a right of first refusalofwater salesor leases,whicharepotentially leavingtheir jurisdiction, providing theyhaveanequitable transferplan inplace. Water sales, transfers or exchanges of water originating or al- located to use in an overdrafted basin shall not cause a net loss of historicusablewater to thebasinand shouldgiveprotection to the future water development rights of that basin. Transfer programs should contain the following components: (1) The burden of identifying and notifying parties and regions with potentially affectedwater rights or contracts, and the burden of proof of protectionof thewater rights of thirdparties andof areas of originconcerningbothquantity andquality of watermust beon theproponentsof a transferofwaterandonthegovernment agency approving any such transfer; (2) Assurance must be provided that the seller will not replace the water sold with other surface or groundwater supplies on the property towhich the water soldwas appurtenant; (3) Water users should not forfeit or acquire any right to the use of water beyond the terms of the contract. Under the terms of any contract for transfer of water, the buyer must agree to forfeit any future claim to the water under the doctrine of public use. The propriety of continuing the transfer should be subject to ap- propriate periodic review by the public agency that approved the original transfer; (4) When the seller or transferor of water has a water right that is legally limited by reasonable and beneficial use on the property towhich thewater right is appurtenant, the StateWater Resources Control Board should determine that the water used by the buyer and the seller in any year or season is not more than would have beenput to reasonable andbeneficial use by the seller at that time in the absence of the sale; (5) When water being transferred is commingled with other water during delivery, it must be assured that the commingling does not adversely affect the quantity or quality of third party water rights; (6)Nowatermay be sold for export fromawater deficient basin andnosaleor transfermaycreatea long-termdeficiency.However, undergroundbasinsmaybeused forwater storageandsubsequent removal with no long termnet withdrawal; and (7)Water districts shouldhave the right todisapprove contracts for the transfer of water under their jurisdiction. Where a water sale or transfer requires approval by the State WaterResourcesControl Board, that boardshouldrequire the find- ings and assurances covered in items 1 through 5 above. It should also require a full hydraulic and water right analysis whenever necessary toprovide reasonableassuranceof theproposedprotec- tions, except that this requirementmight be temporarilywaived in anemergency. Theboard should retain jurisdictionover each sale or transfer that it approves. Legislation and regulatory revisions should be implemented promptly to provide the above protections and to facilitate the movement of water only after those protections are in place and when consistent therewith. Groundwater The transfer of groundwater is complicated by such factors as lack of clear water right law pertaining to these waters, and com- plicated geologic considerations which are not well understood. Until these matters are clarified, we oppose this type of transfer fromtheundergroundsupply exceptwhere: (1)Accurate reporting shows water banking or conjunctive use as achieving net benefit to the underground water supply; (2) such transfer is the most water-efficient way to control the highwater table; or (3) there is a hydrologic study showing a surplus. Contracted Project Water Where the present contractors do not desire to continue pur- chasing contractedwater,we favor transfer of thatwater. Long term transfers that produce adverse local impacts should not proceed unless they are linked to the state’s water supply needs. With respect to environmental assessments, the parties partici- pating inwater transfers should not be responsible for funding en- vironmental water purchases beyond the regulatory requirements. Additivewatershouldbepurchasedbythepublicat large. (Rev. 1998)
contaminated return flows from domestic and industrial use. There is need for reclamation and reuse of waters in some areas in order that supplies may be economically balanced with the demand and the need for maintaining hydrologic barriers to the encroachment of saline waters. However, at present, we have no practical effective means of destroying certain contaminants which pose a serious threat when such returnwaters are used for groundwater replenishment. No landowner’s right to groundwa- ter shall be infringed upon in order to prevent saline intrusion or other forms of pollutionmigration. We recommend increased research into thesegroundwater pol- lutionproblems to the end that adequate solutions aredeveloped. We support increased researchbyUSDA, LandGrant universities, andprivateenterprise to study chemicalmigrationand interaction withgroundwater.We support research todeterminewater quality benefits related to agricultural production; (7) We support local determination of well development and oppose any state control. To protect proprietary interests, property rights, and public safety, we oppose the involuntary disclosure of well completion reports. We support setting of new design standards by the Department of Water Resources. We recognize the value of groundwater basins for prioritized storage uses; Groundwater storage space should be prioritized in the fol- lowing ways: (a) Reserved for native or naturally occurring recharge of a functional basin with reasonable expectation such recharge will eventually occur; (b) Water imported and stored for beneficial use of an overly- ing owner; (c) Water specifically imported and stored for in-basin ap- propriation; (d) Water imported specifically for banking and subse- quent export ; (8)Groundwater extraction, either private or public, shouldnot be used to increase the yieldof the StateWater Project or thewater use or land area in all such districts the Central Valley Project sup- plies because this encourages overdrafting and discourages long term, soundwater development; (9) In the development and management of any and all groundwater basin management districts, it is in the best inter- est of agriculture andproperty owners alike to require agricultural representation in proportion towater use or land area in all such districts; and (10)Groundwatermanagement shouldbe consistentwithover- lying landowners’ correlative rights. (Rev. 2019) No. 310 Waste-Water Reclamation We support the development of reclaimed water for a supple- mental supply especially in areas where fresh supplies may be short or in locationswithinor adjacent tometropolitanareaswhere large reclaimedwater supplies are available. However, we oppose the state mandating the use of reclaimed water when fresh water supplies are available. Reclaimedwaste-water use as a substitute for non-potableuses should be encouraged only under circumstances assuring cost effectiveness, safety for health, and sustained soil productivity on a long-rangebasis. Rights to fresh-water suppliesmust not bedam- aged as a result of substitution of waste water, in order to protect continued productivity if subsequently developed information shows sustaineduse of wastewater to be detrimental. Institutions furnishing treatedwastewater shouldbe responsible formaintain- ing proper quality characteristics for intended uses. Generators of reclaimable water should actively pursue the usage of their own treated nonpotable water before seeking other users. We recommend continued researchby state, federal and other agencies on wastes and waste water for the reuse of such waste to supplement present conservation management and use pro- grams. The University of California should propose standards on the quality of reclaimed municipal wastes and waste water whichwould be acceptable for agricultural use and groundwater replenishment. Agricultural land should not be used as a dump- ing ground for urban and industrial waste when such use is det- rimental to crop production. The state should not substitute locally reclaimed water for its contractual commitments to develop water from the California Water Development System pursuant to the Burns- Porter Act. (Rev. 1994) No. 311 Flood Prevention and Water Conservation Optimumwater resource management must begin in the up- per watersheds where the rain and snow fall, by vegetative cover manipulation, good land management practices, water storage
In the development and adoption of proposals by the California Legislature establishing statutory policy governing the management and use of ground waters and groundwater basins, alone or in coordinationwith surfacewatermanagement and use, existing vested rights of users must be fully protected and such statutory policy should conform to the following prin- ciples, which we believe to be in the best interest of individual rights and the continued development of a strong and healthy economy in California: (1) The Recordation Act should be extended as was the Water ReplenishmentDistrict Act only as permissive enabling legislation to permit water users anywhere in California, by vote of the quali- fied electors in the area concerned, to organize and administer their own groundwater basinmanagement programs; (2) Local water districts or an entity established by affected users should utilize available underground storage and manage their groundwater basins to minimize the involvement of the state or federal government. The district or entity shouldmanage overlying landowners’ extraction and supplementation based on safe yields; Studies of groundwater basins should be conducted by lo- cal water districts or contracted through them to other com- petent agencies or independent professionals. These studies must reflect true existing conditions and enable quality, long- range planning to ensure agricultural viability. Landowners overlying the groundwater basins are and should continue to be responsible for creating groundwater management plans. Exercising their responsibility will help assure that the state or federal government will be prevented from taking local control of water resources. The adoption and the establishment of such management plans are the responsibility of the local districts. We recommend that this relationship be maintained and that the state be given no additional implementing authority. The local districts involved should be required to bear the cost of such studies and investigations, as their constituents should be the ultimate beneficiaries. Groundwater recharge should be recognized as a beneficial use of water. Theopportunities forwaterbanking, throughundergroundstor- ageor conjunctiveuse, shouldbebasedon testedandscientifically proven recharge ability and safe yield. Groundwater is criticallydependent ontheavailabilityof surface water supplies. In areas of the state which have a documented trend toward overdrafting of groundwater, the priority for future acquisitions of importedwater supplies should be dedicated to protecting the rights of overlying landowners togroundwater by groundwater re- plenishment or to reduce the demand for groundwater pumping. (3) These studies and investigations should identify potential spreading andpercolationgrounds for the local districts involved, as good spreading and percolation grounds are quite limited in some areas making it extremely important that these sites be identified and preserved for future use. The preservation of these grounds is a local responsibility and should so remain. Inaddition, the opportunities for prioritized underground storage should be recognized and preserved; (4) In the development of groundwater basin management programs by local districts, and in the possible future use of spe- cific groundwater basins as temporary holdover storage of surface waters for future withdrawal and export, the groundwater rights of users in the basin must be fully protected from all damage, including diminution of quantity and degradation of quality. All groundwater recharge basin management plans must take into consideration the potential contamination of both private residential and agricultural wells in the area. In no case will the quality of groundwater be compromised or degraded by the con- struction of a groundwater recharge basin. We encourage land- owners in critically overdrafted areas to continue to devise and implement, under local control, groundwatermanagement plans. We believe that local control over groundwater management is best accomplished through existing water entities or new water entities formedby local landowners for the purpose of groundwa- ter management. Water should not be exported from one basin, or basin system of a watershed, to another basin or area when such exportation would be adverse to the rights of landowners in the original basin. Groundwater rights which are damaged in any manner must be justly compensated; (5) The groundwater adjudicationprocess shouldprotect prop- erty rights, provide for appropriate due process, and improve the efficiency of groundwater adjudications; (6) Critical problems have developed and are developing in some areas of the state because groundwater basins have be- come polluted through saline intrusion and the percolation of
24 Ag Alert January 26, 2022
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