Water Law Alert: California State Water Resources Control Board Modifies Annual Water Diversion and Use Reporting Deadlines for 2022 and Updates on Drought Curtailment Orders

Modified Annual Water Diversion and Use Reporting Deadlines

On September 23, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 115 into law, modifying the deadline and reporting period for annual water diversion and use reporting for all water right holders. Per the State Water Resources Control Board’s (“SWRCB”) website, the reporting deadline has been modified to April 1, 2022, for Appropriative Rights (Licenses), Stockpond Certificates, Registrations and Statements for the transitional reporting period from January 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021. Thereafter, starting February 1, 2023, water use reports will be due February 1 of each year for the reporting period from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022.

Failure to file an annual report by the due date is a violation of the SWRCB’s regulations and may subject violators to a monetary fine of up to $500 per day for each day of delinquency. More information can be found at SWRCB’s website linked here: Annual Water Diversion and Use Reporting Help | California State Water Resources Control Board

Updated Delta Watershed Curtailment Status List, effective March 2, 2022

Due to the ongoing drought conditions in the state and in response to water availability forecasts, the SWRCB has temporarily suspended curtailments on tributaries and reimposed curtailments on some Central Valley Project (“CVP”) and State Water Project (“SWP”) water rights, effective March 8, 2022. The updated curtailment includes a subset of eight post-1914 appropriative water rights associated with the CVP and SWP in the San Joaquin River watershed and in the Legal Delta, including rights in the upper San Joaquin River and Stanislaus River subwatersheds. The next curtailment status update is expected for release by the SWRCB on or before March 15, 2022.

The Delta Watershed Curtailment Status List can be located at the SWRCD’s website linked here: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed Drought Information | California State Water Resources Control Board.

If you have any questions regarding these reporting changes or the updated curtailment status, please feel free to reach out to a member of our California water law team: Elizabeth Ewens, Janelle Krattiger, Heraclio Pimentel Jr.