Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 937

Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

February 26, 2015

An act to begin delete amend Section 1242 of end delete begin insert add Section 239 to end insert the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 937, as amended, Salas. Groundwater begin delete storage: beneficial use. end delete begin insert planning: technical assistance: disadvantaged communities. end insert

Under existing law, the right to water or to the use of water is limited to that amount of water that may be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served. Existing law declares that the storing of water underground, and related diversions for that purpose, constitute a beneficial use of water if the stored water is thereafter applied to the beneficial purposes for which the appropriation for storage was made.

begin delete

This bill would declare that the recharging of a groundwater basin by a local groundwater management agency or a local groundwater sustainability agency for the purposes of repelling saline intrusion or recovering basin groundwater levels and the flowing of waters on lands or other similar means necessary for the accomplishment of groundwater recharge for these purposes, constitutes a beneficial use of water if the recharge is consistent with the local agency’s groundwater management plan or groundwater sustainability plan.

end delete begin insert

This bill would require the Department of Water Resources to provide technical assistance to disadvantaged communities so that they may participate in groundwater planning, including, but not limited to, plans for regional groundwater banking, with any county or other local agency.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 239 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 239. end insert   

The department shall provide technical assistance to
disadvantaged communities so that they may participate in
groundwater planning, including, but not limited to, plans for
regional groundwater banking, with any county or other local
agency.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 1242 of the Water Code is amended to
read:

1242.  

(a)  The storing of water underground, including the
diversion of streams and the flowing of water on lands necessary
to the accomplishment of such storage, constitutes a beneficial use
of water if the water so stored is thereafter applied to the beneficial
purposes for which the appropriation for storage was made.

(b) The recharging of a groundwater basin by a local
groundwater management agency or a local groundwater
sustainability agency for the purposes of recovering basin
groundwater levels or repelling saline intrusion and the flowing
of waters on lands or other similar means necessary for the
accomplishment of groundwater recharge for these purposes,
constitutes a beneficial use of water if the local agency has
determined that the recharge is consistent with the local agency’s
groundwater management plan or groundwater sustainability plan
adopted pursuant to Part 2.75 (commencing with Section 10750)
or Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6,
respectively.

end delete