California Water Board Lacks Jurisdiction to Curtail Water Use by Senior Water Rights Holders
March 10, 2018
By: Best Best & Krieger
The State Water Resources Control Board exceeded its jurisdictional authority under Water Code section 1052 when it issued curtailment notices to pre-1914 and riparian water rights holders, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge decided Wednesday. The decision addresses a number of consolidated legal challenges to Board actions taken within Central California watersheds during the State’s recent and lengthy drought.
The court also concluded that the curtailment notices at issue violated the petitioners’ due process rights because they were issued “without first providing water users with an opportunity to challenge the findings upon which they were based.”
