Court Decision Limits State Water Resources Control Board's Authority Over Pre-1914 Appropriative Rights

On September 12, 2022, the Court of Appeal for the Sixth District issued its opinion in the California Water Curtailment Cases, No. 1-15-CV285182 (2022). The court held that the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) did not have the authority to curtail water usage for pre-1914 appropriative rights on the basis that there will not be enough water to fulfill all of those rights.

The case arose out of the State Water Board's 2015 curtailment orders for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which were issued based on significant water shortages due to the severe drought. Those orders informed the holders of post-1903/pre-1914 appropriative rights that there was insufficient water to meet their rights and that they must immediately stop diverting. Several of the holders of those post-1903/pre-1914 appropriative rights, largely irrigation districts and water districts, sued the State Water Board after receiving these curtailment orders, challenging