ARTICLE 4.3. Agricultural and Urban Water Use Reporting [531. - 531.20.]

Cal. Water Code - WAT 4.3.

in effect

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 531. Section 531.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this section govern the construction of this article. (a) “Aggregated farm-gate delivery data” means information reflecting the total volume of water an agricultural water supplier provides to its customers and is calculated by totaling its deliveries to individual customers. (b) “Agricultural water supplier” means a supplier either publicly or privately owned, supplying 2,000 acre-feet or more of surface water annually for agricultural purposes or serving 2,000 or more acres of agricultural land. An agricultural water supplier includes a supplier or contractor for water, regardless of the basis of right, which distributes or sells water for ultimate resale to customers. (c) “Authority” means the California Bay-Delta Authority. (d) “Best professional practices” means practices attaining and maintaining accuracy of measurement and reporting devices and methods. (e) “Diversion” has the meaning set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 5100. (f) “Farm-gate” means the point at which water is delivered from the agricultural water supplier’s distribution system to each of its customers. (g) “Person” has the meaning set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 5100.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 531.2. Section 531.2.

The department, the board, and the State Department of Public Health shall coordinate the collection, management, and use of agricultural and urban water measurement information provided to each agency.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 531.5. Section 531.5.

(a) The board, in collaboration with the department, the authority or its successor agency, and the State Department of Public Health, shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2009, evaluating the feasibility, estimated costs, and potential means of financing a coordinated water measurement database. The evaluation shall include, but is not necessarily limited to, agricultural and urban water measurement data related to deliveries, diversions, licenses, permits, and other information received by these state agencies that supports effective state and regional water management planning and decisionmaking. The evaluation shall also consider how the database can provide information to address impacts related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. (b) The report shall consider coordinating the collection and sharing of data through the use of technologies used by the National Environmental Information Exchange Network and the existing data exchange infrastructure of the involved agencies. (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the report provide an initial feasibility assessment, and is not intended to serve as the final Feasibility Study Report required by the State Administrative Manual.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 531.10. Section 531.10.

(a) (1) An agricultural water supplier shall submit an annual report to the department that summarizes aggregated farm-gate delivery data, on a monthly or bimonthly basis, using best professional practices. The annual report for the prior year shall be submitted to the department by April 1 of each year. The annual report shall be organized by basin, as defined in Section 10721, within the service area of the agricultural water supplier, if applicable. (2) The report, and any amendments to the report, submitted to the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted electronically and shall include any standardized forms, tables, or displays specified by the department. (3) The department shall post all reports on its Internet Web site in a manner that allows for comparisons across water suppliers. The department shall make the reports available for public viewing in a timely manner after it receives them. (b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to require the implementation of water measurement programs or practices that are not locally cost effective. (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the requirements of this section shall complement and not affect the scope of authority granted to the department or the board by provisions of law other than this article.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 531.15. Section 531.15.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, state agencies shall carry out the duties described in this article only to the extent that funds are made available for the purposes of implementing those duties.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 531.20. Section 531.20.

To the extent that the provisions of this article conflict with the requirements of Chapter 4800 of the State Administrative Manual, the requirements of that chapter shall control.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026