California Water Transfers

California's State Water Bank is meant to lower the cost of drought by allowing water rights owners to sell to water users "in need." But you can't just sell water here and there without worrying about secondary impacts on communities, the environment, etc.

The State Water Resources Control Board is one agency that has a say in water trades, so I asked the SWRCB these questions:

1. How many trades does the SWRCB approve each year? Reject? How much time and $ does approval/rejection require?
2. How many different types of approval are there? Is it easier to get permission to repeat a trade in a later year? Is there an expedited process?

I got this answer from Vicky Whitney

David, FYI, most water transfers/ trades do NOT occur through our organization. Most are between contractors to the State or Federal Water projects, who may transfer/ trade water without approval from us since the water rights for the projects specify rather large 'places of use' with flexiblity to move water around among them without additional approvals from us. The State Water Bank, for example, is operated by the Department of Water Resources, not us.

The short answer is that if a transfer requires a change in water right or permit conditions, it requires our approval. Since the State Water Board's permitting authority only extends to diversions from surface and subsurface natural channels that were initiated after 1914, any transfer action that involves a water right outside of our permitting authority can be done without our approval. This would include the transfer of water diverted under pre-1914 rights and groundwater rights. In some cases, water can be transferred under a water right that we've issued without additional approvals required by us. All water right permits include certain mandatory terms, including the point(s) of diverision and rediversion, place of use, purpose of use, etc. If the transfer can occur without the need to change any water right permit or license conditions, our approval of the transfer is not required. An example is when a CVP contractor south of the Delta wants to transfer water to another CVP contractor who contracts for water from the same CVP project. Both contractors can be served with water under the permit for the project, and the permit is not specific as to how the USBR allocates water among its contractors, so in this instance the transfer can occur without any additional approval from us.

In some cases, the State must approve transfers, even if they don't involve the State Water Board's approvals. For instance, if a party wants to transfer water from a pre-1914 appropriator to a user south of the Delta using the SWP's Delta Pumps, the two parties must acquire approval from the Department of Water Resources to use the pumps and the California aqueduct (and perhaps storage space in San Luis Reservoir as well). The DWR can condition its approval. The USBR similarly conditions transfers that involve the use of its facilities.

Parties can request either a temporary transfer (approval is good for 180 days) or a long-term transfer. The process and conditions for approval are different, depending on the term and intent of the transfer being sought. Temporary transfers are generally requested under Water Code section 1435 and follow the process specified in the subsequent water code sections. Water right holders may also seek changes in their permit conditions to allow the transfer of water under Water Code section 1725. Long-term transfers are generally requested under Water Code section 1735. These transfers often are accompanied by petitions seeking a change in permit terms filed under Water Code section 1700. The text of Water Code sections can be found here.

We receive about seven requests for a temporary transfer each year under Water Code sections 1435, 1725, and 1735. We are on track to receive more this year due to dry hydrologic conditions. We've posted our outputs for each year, including our transfer approvals on the Division of Water Rights webpage. However, transfers can occur in some cases if we approve changes pursuant to our normal change petition process. We would not necessarily know that the water right holder is seeking the change to effectuate a transfer. As you indicated, Gary, the transfers we process are only a small percentage of the total number of transfers occuring in the state.

David, you should see our posted guidance on water transfers for more information. I specifically recommend that you review the "Decision Tree" in the Board's Water Transfer Guide. The tree is figure 1 of the guide and is on page 2-3 of the document (page 11 of 84 of the electronic file). It provides a flowchart for determining what approvals are needed for a transfer.

Where can we get information on existing transfers?

DWR used to have a website called On-Tap that was supposed to track all transfers. The website was closed when CalFED was trimmed a few years ago but it has been started up again. Here is a link. There is info on there for water transfers from 2000-2005.

Bottom Line: While I am glad to hear that transfers of pre-1914 water and/or within districts are "relatively easier," the "seven requests for a temporary transfer each year" scares me. There would be more transfers if the process was easier.

SWRCB and its nine regional offices employ 650 people to take care of water issues (many on water quality). I hope they have enough economists around to get transfers done this year.