Part 4.6. San Joaquin River of California Water Code >> Division 6. >> Part 4.6.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that a serious problem of water quality exists in the San Joaquin River between the junction of the San Joaquin River and the Merced River and the junction of the San Joaquin River with Middle River; that by virtue of the nature and causes of the problem and its effect upon water supplies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, it is a matter of statewide interest and is the responsibility of the State to determine an equitable and feasible solution to this problem.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State that no person, corporation or public or private agency or the State or the United States should divert water from the San Joaquin River and its tributaries to which the users along the portion of the San Joaquin River described in Section 12230 are entitled.

The State Water Resources Control Board, the State Department of Water Resources, the California Water Commission, and any other agency of the state having jurisdiction, shall do nothing, in connection with their responsibilities, to cause further significant degradation of the quality of water in that portion of the San Joaquin River between the points specified in Section 12230.

Nothing in this part shall be construed as affecting the quality of water diverted into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from the Sacramento River, nor as affecting any vested right to the use of water, regardless of origin, or any water project for which an application to appropriate water was filed with the State Water Resources Control Board prior to June 17, 1961.