Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS

Dan Farber and I, along with Berkeley economist Michael Hanemann, have a new report out on climate change and water rights in California.  The report—Legal Analysis of Barriers to Adaptation by California’s Water Sector—was prepared by Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, and it can be downloaded here.  The report was released by the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program.

The idea behind the report was to identify ways that water law in California may facilitate or obstruct adaptation to climate change.  We were looking for reforms that would make adaptation easier, with an emphasis on those that may be politically feasible.  We concluded that having an accurate record of who is using water in California, and in what quantity, is the single most important step towards preparing for climate change.  That information is a critical component in the development of future policy, and even in the enforcement of current laws.

In addition to calling for better reporting requirements for surface water and groundwater, we also recommend that groundwater planning be improved, that the State Water Resources Control Board take steps to prevent the unreasonable use of ...

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