the issues
Over Allocation
The Problem:
Entitlements to water that does not exist is incentivizing irresponsible agricultural and urban development at great cost to California citizens and our environment.
The Solution:
Equitable and sustainable water policy informed by facts and protected by existing laws.
Photo: Jae C. Hong
It’s Called “Paper Water”
Water that exists as water rights claims in legal documents but not in the real world is known as "paper water". There is far more water promised “on paper” to stakeholders than there is in California’s waterways. In fact, the State of California has given away 5.3 times more water than exists.
In September 2008, the State Water Resources Control Board reported to the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force that while the Central Valley watershed of California has an average annual runoff of 29 million acre-feet, the face value of water rights granted by the state to appropriative water right holders amounted to 153.7 million acre-feet.
When C-WIN and UC Davis performed separate studies comparing the amount of available water to water allocations, the results were similar: 5.3 times more water is promised than is available in the State Water Project system.
Paper Water is a Game California Citizens Are Losing
The California Constitution states that California's water belongs to its people. Mismanagement of public water is undermining the economic stability and well-being of California's communities and environment.
When water exists only on paper, it’s vulnerable to mismanagement and abuse.
Paper water allocations facilitate approval of irresponsible and unsustainable urban development, threatening the water reliability of existing neighborhoods.
Paper water allocations are sold by industrial-scale farmers back to ratepayers that have already paid for it.
Paper water rights allocations drive up costs to ratepayers when their water is not delivered and alternative sources are needed.
Paper water allocations encourage irresponsible agricultural development at ratepayer expense, threatening reliability and endangering the environment.
Paper water is the real reason why water from the State Water Project is so unreliable and expensive.
It’s important to remember that agriculture uses 80% of California’s water; ratepayers only 13%. Paper water is the real reason why the people of California have been asked to conserve, change their water use and pay more, while the largest industrial-scale farms have increased their acreage of water-intensive crops by millions of acres.
Folsom Lake during the 2015 drought. Photo: Alan Grinberg
Water is a Natural Resource Held in the Public Trust
The state is required by law to protect the public trust in California’s water for the access and benefit of all. Unfortunately, this clear legal obligation is frequently ignored in policy making. The major river systems in the California Delta estuary have been degraded for private benefit, destroying public trust resources.
The public trust doctrine requires policymakers to assess all impacts of any project using our natural resources:
“No water…can be taken from a stream, lake or other natural resource without a careful assessment of the harm that might be done.”
Our Goal of Equitable and Sustainable Water Management Policy is Attainable
C-WIN and our partners have developed the strategy to correct water policy in California, and recently achieved significant milestones towards our goals. A public trust assessment is now required by law for approval of any project using public trust natural resources.
A public trust assessment of the California Delta estuary will measure the amount of available water, appraise non-market resources, research water rights, and perform a cost/benefit analysis of alternatives to water exports. This will show that a healthy estuary ecosystem is essential for reliable water deliveries to California citizens and the resilience of California’s economy.
C-WIN will use this analysis as evidence in our currently active court cases against the State Water Resources Control Board, who are negligent in their legal obligation to protect a critical public trust resource in the interest of the people.
Photo: Bureau of Land Management