PFAS in Focus: Forever-Engineering With Trent Stober, HDR - Reflections on Water Podcast
On-Demand Webinar | Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
Water Rights with Eric Garner: Prescriptive Rights
Context is Crucial in Examining BLM’s Proposed Rule for Fracking On Federal Land
The time for Newsom to sign or veto bills has now passed. Of the nine bills discussed herein, Newsom signed seven and vetoed two. Please see the update below each bill that discusses its resolution....more
Farmers in southern Tulare County will face greater scrutiny for groundwater pumping after the state placed the region on probation following a lengthy hearing in Sacramento on Tuesday....more
The Alberta government has identified, and is taking proactive steps to address, the looming threat of a severe drought this year. As negotiations unfold to secure water-sharing agreements, a cascade of legal and economic...more
An ongoing, historic drought in California has compelled California state legislators to rethink the state’s long-standing treatment of water rights. While the recent heavy snowpack and wet spring and summer have alleviated...more
California legislators have passed a bill articulating the scope of the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to investigate water rights. Senate Bill 389, which will go to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for a final...more
Last week, leaders from a range of industries convened for two days in Los Angeles for Brownstein and WestWater’s inaugural Sustainable Water Investment Summit....more
How water rights are granted and managed in the United States has always been a challenge. Unlike land grants, which are finite areas, water knows no boundaries and flows freely. How water is distributed, managed, and...more
According to the National Center for Environmental Information, about 51 percent of the continental United States has been experiencing drought conditions in the summer of 2022. More than 70 percent of the western U.S. faces...more
As severe drought conditions continue across the western U.S., Allen Matkins will begin publishing a quarterly newsletter focused on recent legal, regulatory, and policy issues impacting water users and suppliers in...more
On March 22, 2022, the Second District Court of Appeal published its Opinion in Buena Vista Water Storage District v. Kern Water Bank Authority, upholding the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Kern Water Bank...more
On April 19, 2022, Clark County District Court Judge Bita Yeager issued a decision vacating the Nevada State Engineer’s (State Engineer) June 15, 2020, Order 1309. Under Order 1309, the State Engineer merged seven...more
On Feb. 23, 2022, the Third District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in Dow v. Lassen Irrigation Company et al, C091965 as to what it believed to be an issue of first impression—whether a watermaster appointed by the trial...more
In August 2020 we previewed four notable interstate water rights cases that would soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case of Mississippi v. Tennessee is now one step closer to a decision. On 5 November, 2020, the...more
As climate change accelerates, clashes between states over water rights are heating up due to this resulting strained resource. The only court with authority to adjudicate these interstate disputes is the U.S. Supreme Court....more
Best Best & Krieger LLP, representing the City of Paso Robles, successfully defended the City in a jury trial that found the water suppliers had acquired prescriptive groundwater rights to the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin...more
This checklist provides a summary of state water right reporting requirements and applicable deadlines for users of surface or groundwater in California for calendar year 2018. If you have questions about the information...more
After five parched years, substantial winter rains and Sierra snowpack have brought California a long-sought reprieve from drought, though not without presenting a new set of challenges. In February, nearly 200,000 residents...more
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) will have lasting implications on water users throughout the State. Downey Brand's water law practice is on the cutting edge of SGMA and groundwater law developments and has...more
In early May, the Fourth District Court of Appeal took an important step toward helping to secure Orange County’s water supply. It issued several opinions in response to challenges to a proposed public-private partnership...more
On January 14, 2016, the officers of the Legislature presented CS/CS/SB 552 to Governor Scott for signature. More famously known as the "Water Bill," this 134-page page marvel of compromise proves that it is still possible to...more
The Western states face two reciprocating and overarching problems in water resources policy. First, water is an increasingly scarce resource facing sharply competitive needs. Climate change is projected to put even more...more