Our lawyers have decades of experience representing individuals, private companies, and governmental agencies in water rights and water resource issues. Our clients include ranchers, farmers, developers, urban water suppliers, and irrigation and reclamation districts in California, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, and Nevada. We have also participated in the adjudication of water rights before administrative agencies and in state and federal courts in several western states. We have worked with federal water masters under existing federal river decrees, and litigated these issues in federal and state courts in several western states.
Our attorneys are knowledgeable, creative and hardworking. Whenever possible, we seek solutions to problems that will avoid disputes and litigation. When necessary, we are prepared to be tenacious advocates for our clients, bringing to bear our extensive experience in trial and appellate courts.
Project Experience
- Surface water diversions, including fish screens
- Surface water reservoirs, including fish passage facilities
- Hydroelectric power generation
- Groundwater extraction
- Large scale groundwater appropriation and interbasin transfer projects
- Conjunctive use programs, including groundwater recharge with both native and imported water
- Banking arrangements in off-site groundwater storage
- Recycled water acquisition, transmission and distribution
- Desalination of brackish groundwater
- Water treatment plants
- Water transfers
Agency Interactions
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service
- U.S. Forest Service
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- NOAA Fisheries
- National Park Service
- California State Water Resources Control Board
- California Department of Water Resources
- California Coastal Commission
- Regional Water Quality Control Boards
- Counties and Cities
Water Supply Agency Services
- Safe Drinking Water Act compliance
- Endangered Species Act
- Wetlands delineation and protection
- Dredge and fill Permits under the federal Clean Water Act
- Urban water management plans preparation
- Groundwater management plans
- Water Supply Assessments (under SB 610).
- Water conservation measures and rationing ordinances
- Rate structure design
- Wholesale-retail water supply contracts
For a more in-depth overview of our capabilities, please refer to our water law brochure.
Publications
- Procedural Requirements for Declaring Water Shortage Emergency and Adopting Water Use Restrictions
- Supreme Court to Hear "Waters of the United States" Argument this Fall
- Governor Brown Fast-Tracks Voluntary Water Transfers to Ease Drought Hardships on Agriculture
- EPA Proposes to Narrow “Waters of the United States” Definition
- California Water Action Plan Finalized Amidst Historic Drought Conditions
- SWRCB Issues Water Use Reporting Notice
- Court of Appeal Finds CEQA Does Not Apply To An Agency’s Declared Water Emergency
- Trump Administration Signals Intent to Roll Back Federal Jurisdiction over Wetlands and Intermittent Streams
- The California State Water Resources Control Board Issues Guidance For 2012 Water Diversion Measurements Requirements
- New Legislation That Will Impact Groundwater Management
- Court Finds SWRCB has Jurisdiction over Pre-1914 Water Rights and Defines Forfeiture Standard
- Supreme Court Leaves Ninth Circuit Permit Shield Ruling in Place
- The DWR Releases Draft Regulations for the Management of Groundwater Basins Under SGMA
- State Water Resources Control Board Proposes to Continue and Add New Requirements to the Drought Emergency Water Conservation Regulations
- Practitioner Insights: Maui Groundwater Case Shows Government Retreat Is Bad for Everyone
- SWRCB Issues Curtailment Notice for Senior Water Rights
- The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Implementation Update
- Drought State of Emergency: Governor Brown Issues Executive Order Mandating 25 Percent Reduction of Urban Water Usage
- Update: State Water Resources Control Board Releases Proposed Regulatory Framework to Implement the Drought Executive Order
- California's First Appellate District Court Finds Reasonable Use Determination Requires Consideration of All Competing Water Users
- State Water Resources Control Board Requires Additional Reporting by Riparian and Pre-1914 Water Right Owners
- Superior Court Finds Issuance of Well Drilling Permit for Groundwater Extraction is Subject to the Public Trust Doctrine
- Trump Administration's Clean Water Act Proposal Will Affect Many Developer and Public Agency Projects
- Ninth Circuit: Changes in Water Flows Benefiting Fish Don’t Require SWRCB Permission
- Governor Issues New Water Conservation Order; SWRCB Proposes Water Conservation Emergency Regulation Amendments
- SWRCB Issues Emergency Regulation and Governor Proposes Conservation Enforcement Legislation
- New Ruling: CDFW Notification Required For Water Diversions That Don’t Alter Streambed
- Gearing Up for the Continuing Drought Emergency
- State Water Board Adopts Water Use Reporting and Measurement Regulations
- SWRCB Issues Draft Regulations to Achieve 25% Water Use Reduction
- State Water Board Extends Emergency Water Conservation Regulation
- VIDEO: 2015 SWRCB Emergency Regulations for Urban Water Conservation
- Can Groundwater Permitting Affect the Public Trust?
- Clean Water Act
- Sour Grapes: A Potential Prelude to Water Rights Curtailment
- The DWR Releases Proposed Groundwater Sustainability Plan Emergency Regulations Under SGMA
- State Water Board Reinstates Monthly Reporting Requirement on Diverters in Sacramento and San Joaquin River Watersheds
- New Emergency Regulation for Water Conservation - The Mandatory Actions by Suppliers
- Responding to a Notice of Intent to Sue under the Industrial General Permit for Stormwater Discharges
- California Supreme Court Upholds Pre-condemnation Entry and Testing Law with Addition of Jury Option
- Drought State of Emergency: Mandatory Water Use Reduction Extended to October 2016
- DWR Provides Notice Of Proposed Emergency Regulatory Action for GSPs Under SGMA
- Circuit Courts Extend Clean Water Act Liability to Discharging Treated Wastewater and Other Pollutants to Groundwater
- The Supreme Court’s Clean Water Act Ruling Opens Floodgates To Future Litigation
- State Water Board Proposes Water Conservation Regulation
- Upcoming State Water Diversion Measurement and Reporting Deadlines
- PFC Regulation Begins in California
- Applying for a Business License in 2020? You May Need to Consider Your Water Quality Impacts
- Stock Water Rights on Federal Land
- Governor's Executive Order N-42-20 Restricts the Ability of Water Service Providers to Shut Off Water Service
- Uncertainty on Maui: How Will Functional Equivalence Work in the Real World?
- New Federal Law Requires PFAS Users to Report to EPA
- Court of Appeal Upholds State Board’s Broad Power to Regulate Riparian and Pre-1914 Appropriative Water Rights to Protect Threatened Fish
- New PFAS Regulations Work Dramatic Changes to California's Drinking Water Supplies — With More Changes Likely to Follow
Video
- How Do Tiered Water Rates Help Californians Save Water?
- Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
- Water Rights for California Land Owners