Article 2. General Provisions of California Water Code >> Division 21. >> Part 9. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 2.

The provisions of Articles 1 (commencing with Section 75560), 2 (commencing with Section 75570), and 3 (commencing with Section 75590) of Chapter 3 of this part apply only to districts in which a ground water charge is levied or proposed to be levied.

Ground water charges levied pursuant to this part are declared to be in furtherance of district activities in the protection and augmentation of the water supplies for users within the district or a zone or zones thereof which are necessary for the public health, welfare, and safety of the people of this state.

The ground water charges are authorized to be levied upon the production of ground water from all water-producing facilities, whether public or private, within the district or a zone or zones thereof for the benefit of all who rely directly or indirectly upon the ground water supplies of the district or a zone or zones thereof and water imported into the district or a zone or zones thereof.

The proceeds of ground water charges levied and collected upon the production of water from ground water supplies within the district or a zone or zones thereof shall be used exclusively by the board for the district purposes authorized by this division.

Any person or operator who augments the water supplies for use within the United Water Conservation District or a zone or zones thereof, by importing water from sources outside the district, and who stores that water in a basin within the district, may apply to the Board of Directors of the United Water Conservation District for a determination exempting that operator from the payment of any groundwater charge based upon the extraction of that water. The exemption shall be based upon the filing of an application for exemption and submission to the board of reasonable evidence of the following:
  (a) The amount of water of acceptable quality imported into the district and spread or injected into a basin within the district.
  (b) The portion of that imported water that effectively recharges the basin underlying the zone or zones into which it is injected or percolates.
  (c) The amount of water produced by the applicant from the zone or zones overlying the areas effectively recharged by the importation and spreading or injection of that water.
  (d) Even if the applicant had not imported and stored the water, it had a separate legal right and the ability to produce the quantity of water for which it seeks exemption, in addition to all other water produced by the applicant from the zone or zones involved.