Understand the complex and contentious process of allocating California’s water resources. Gain a comprehensive overview of the legal and regulatory framework for surface water and groundwater rights, as well as the environmental laws that regulate water use. Topics include:
- Allocation of surface water through appropriative and riparian rights
- California's system of groundwater rights
- Authority of the State Water Resources Control Board
- Protecting Northern California’s area of origin laws
- Environmental protections under the public trust doctrine, the Endangered Species Act, CEQA, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Fish and Game Code
- California water institutions: the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Water Resources and local water agencies
- Federal Reclamation Law and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act
- Legal constraints on water transfers
- Allocating interstate rivers: Colorado River Basin and Klamath River Basin
- California's water hub: understanding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta and its regulatory and planning context
Course Code
296390