New Deadline and Reporting Period for California Surface Water Right Holders

Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget trailer bill, Senate Bill (SB) 155 into law. The bill modifies the deadline and reporting period for surface water diversion reports submitted annually to the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights.
 

The Changes

• The new reporting period is aligned with the standard Water Year (Oct. 1–Sept. 30).
• All surface water rights holders, whether riparian, pre-1914, permitted, licensed or small domestic use, small irrigation use and stock pond registrations, now have the same reporting deadline. In 2022, the deadline is April 1. In every subsequent year, the deadline is Feb. 1.

The new reporting periods and deadlines are outlined below. In every subsequent year after the April 1, 2022, reporting deadline, the deadline will be Feb. 1.
 

The Impact

These changes signal a broader effort to modernize diversion reporting and make more robust use of the information reported by water users in managing California’s surface water resources.

This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding modifications to the deadline and reporting period for surface water diversion reports submitted annually to the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions. The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date. Because the law in this area is changing rapidly, and insights are not automatically updated, continued accuracy cannot be guaranteed.