by Alina Werth, ’25, UC Davis School of Law[1] Alina Werth is a rising 3L at UC Davis School of Law where she studies water and environmental law. Her article below won the 2024 California Water Law Writing Prize, sponsored by the California Water Law Symposium and University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.… Continue reading Tribal Beneficial Use Designations as a Catalyst for Reallocating Water in California
Making Every Drop Count – The Keys To Successful SGMA Implementation
by Alexander J. Van Roekel ’21, UCLA School of Law, Nossaman LLP Van Roekel’s article won the 2021 California Water Law Writing Prize, awarded at the 2021 California Water Law Symposium. The California Water Law Writing Prize is co-sponsored by the California Water Law Symposium Board of Directors and University of the Pacific, McGeorge School… Continue reading Making Every Drop Count – The Keys To Successful SGMA Implementation
Punitives May Come To Those Who Wait
California Joins Jurisdictions Authorizing Punitive Damage Claims Against Polluters That Refuse To Timely Remediate Groundwater Contamination By Bryan Barnhart* LL.M., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of LawJ.D., Hastings College of Law California’s courts routinely impose punitive damages awards against polluters that knowingly release hazardous substances which contaminate groundwater. But California has been slow to… Continue reading Punitives May Come To Those Who Wait
The Problem with Proportionality: The Effect of Proposition 218 on Retail Water Rates for Community Gardens in Los Angeles
by Laura Yraceburu ’20, UCLA School of Law Yraceburu’s article won the 2020 California Water Law Writing Prize, awarded at the 2020 California Water Law Symposium. The California Water Law Writing Prize is co-sponsored by the California Water Law Symposium Board of Directors and University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Community gardens in… Continue reading The Problem with Proportionality: The Effect of Proposition 218 on Retail Water Rates for Community Gardens in Los Angeles
Sedimentation in California Reservoirs: A Long-Term Problem of Immediate Concern
[print_link] Ryan J. Mahoney* Ryan John Mahoney, JD ‘17, LLM ‘17, McGeorge School of Law, is staff counsel with the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Mr. Mahoney’s article won the 2018 California Water Law Writing Prize, awarded at the 2018 California Water Law Symposium. INTRODUCTION Sedimentation of reservoirs is a threat to California’s… Continue reading Sedimentation in California Reservoirs: A Long-Term Problem of Immediate Concern
The Exclusivity of Inclusion: Involving Environmental Justice Communities in California’s Central Valley in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
California was one of the first states to codify the principle of environmental justice (“EJ”), which state law defines as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.” Historically, activism in the EJ field has focused on the siting of hazardous facilities such as landfills in poor communities of color, and on efforts to mitigate the associated pollution burden and health effects. However, procedural justice, which one researcher defines as the “fairness of the process by which goods are allocated and decisions made,” is also an important component of EJ activism.
The Challenges of Mandated Coordination: SGMA & the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was signed into law in September of 2014 with the goal of improving groundwater management in California by compelling local agencies overlying groundwater basins to create plans to manage their local groundwater supplies.
Truly a Watershed Event: California’s Water Board Proposes Base Flows for the San Joaquin River Tributaries
In 1878, John Wesley Powell, the first director of the United States Geological Survey, published his Report on the Lands in the Arid Regions of the United States. In his Arid Lands Report, Powell foresaw the essential role that water would play in the development of the American west and the challenges faced in managing watersheds that included not only mainstem rivers but networks of tributaries that contributed water to mainstem rivers.
The 12th Annual California Water Law Symposium: Keynote Address by Justice Ronald B. Robie
I am deeply honored to participate in this Symposium, the first held at Pacific/McGeorge. The phrase “The New Normal” is a truly appropate way of looking at where we are now in California Water.
Millview County Water District v. State Water Resources Control Board: Use it or lose it? Review of Forfeiture of Pre-1914 Appropriative Rights in California
Use it or lose it — that is the California way. Or is it? Many practicing California water law attorneys long assumed that forfeiture of a pre-1914 appropriative right could automatically occurred after five years of nonuse. However, a recent state appellate opinion puts this assumption in jeopardy.