California Water Right Ownership Updates Required

California Water Right Ownership Updates Required

The State of California wants to know when you sell or transfer water rights. As part of any land use transaction involving water rights, regulations require landowners to provide notice to the Water Resources Control Board (WRCB) when water rights transfer to new owners.

The WRCB will accept any change of ownership unless the change is challenged. If so, the WRCB will wait to update ownership listings until the dispute is settled outside of the agency.

Notification to WRCB should include information like the application number for the water right, name, and address of the new owner. The notice must also be signed by the previous owner. The process is easy. Forms are available at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ewrims/ownership/. The forms may be sent electronically, by mail, or fax. Questions regarding the forms may be sent to: changerequest@waterboards.ca.gov.

For other states’ recording procedures and requirements, see: http://www.water-law.com/water-rights-articles/water-right-assignment-and-ownership/.

Make sure to stay tuned to Schroeder Law Offices’ Water Blog for more news that may affect you!

This article was drafted with the assistance of Law Clerk Jakob Wiley, a concurrent student at Oregon State University’s Water Resources Policy and Management graduate program and a law student at the University of Oregon School of Law.