Announcing the brand new edition
California Water II
By Arthur L. Littleworth and Eric Garner
This is the Second Edition containing relevant fresh material as well as the updated version of the original 1995 text, and commentary on developments and water law in the last decade.
California Water II is a concise reference about California water and will help the reader gain a contemporary understanding of the vital water issues and the law that governs them.
Among the topics covered are California water supplies, their use and development, environmental issues, water rights and regulations, the public trust doctrine, water litigation, conservation, and the law of the Colorado River. This book is not limited to all reported case decisions but does include hard-to-find, practical information.
Also addressed are such questions as: How much water does California have? Where does it come from? Are we really a water-short state? How is our water used? How much do we need? What changes in federal and state water laws have occurred in the last decade? What critical issues must environmental, urban and agricultural interests address to reconcile their competing demands for water?
The story of the long running negotiations and battles over Colorado River water is told, ending in a settlement that requires a cut-back in California uses, but allows the transfer of agricultural water from the Imperial Irrigation District to urban Southern California uses. In the Delta, the State Water Board finally set water quality standards (D-1641) that determine the amount of water that the enormous State and Federal projects can export. That State Board decision was recently generally upheld in a 173-page opinion by Justice Ronald R. Robie, in a ruling that will shape California water law and our uses of water for many years to come.
The progress of CALFED – and its lack of progress – plays a significant role in the last 10 years, and its history is discussed. Groundwater, called one of California’s “greatest natural resources,” gets a chapter of its own, dealing with groundwater storage, pollution, and the Supreme Court’s most important decision in a generation on groundwater law. Much attention is also given to the continuing clash between the use of water for fish and environmental purposes, and the diversion of water for farms and cities. The impact of the U.S. Endangered Species Act is told in detail. Finally, water transfers from agriculture to cities has emerged as a major source of supply in the last decade, and the subject is well covered.