Section 79181 Of Article 2. Groundwater Storage Program From California Water Code >> Division 26. >> Chapter 9. >> Article 2.
79181
. (a) A project undertaken pursuant to this article shall
fully protect and preserve the groundwater rights of the overlying
landowners and shall fully protect and preserve the water rights of
the project participants. The department shall not provide funding
for a project unless it determines that the project will be designed
and operated in a manner that ensures that other users of the same or
a hydrologically related aquifer will not suffer any unreasonable
diminution of the quantity or quality of their groundwater supplies
or incur additional uncompensated expense as a result of the
implementation of the project.
(b) For the purposes of receiving funding for a conjunctive use
project pursuant to this article, the applicant shall be required to
do both of the following:
(1) Provide for a continuing groundwater monitoring and mitigation
program.
(2) Limit the extraction of the groundwater to not more than the
amount of water that is stored or recharged by the project
participants or the amount that complies with all laws and contract
terms governing the extraction, appropriation, and use of groundwater
by the project participants.
(c) Persons and agencies participating in the project may not
assert a claim or file a cause of action against an overlying
landowner who is not exceeding either of the following:
(1) The overlying landowner's historic rate of groundwater
pumping.
(2) The full amount of groundwater to which the overlying
landowner would be entitled to under state law regarding rights to
groundwater and reasonable beneficial use on the landowner's land
that overlies the groundwater.
(d) The overlying landowners may not assert a claim or file a
cause of action against the persons or agencies participating in the
project if the project is implemented in compliance with this
section, except as provided by contract between the project
participants.
(e) Nothing in this article modifies state law with regard to
groundwater rights, regulation, or management.