Over the past several years there have been reoccurring claims that California’s water rights are over-appropriated and that the water rights system does not work. This erroneous claim is made by those who simply add up all of the water rights maintained by the State Water Resources Control Board and state that they total more than the available water supplies in the state and therefore they are over-appropriated. What this process neglects to recognize is how water is managed to provide multiple benefits, that water rights are developed for both consumptive and non-consumptive uses, return flows allow for the same quantity of water to meet multiple water rights, and that there is an orderly and structured process for curtailing water rights when supplies are limited. For more information debunking the water rights over-appropriation myth, click here.
Water Providing Multiple Benefits Prompts Water Rights Over-Appropriation Myth
Tuesday, May 12th, 2015
