2025 California Water Law Symposium I February 15 at University of California, Berkeley School of Law I Water and Innovation
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WASTED WATER:
​​
REASONABLE USE LAW IN
​ 21st CENTURY CALIFORNIA
​

Golden Gate University School of Law | Saturday, January 24, 2015 

Agenda


8:00 am ​
Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 am – 9:15 am ​
Introduction to the 2015 California Water Law Symposium

Erik Faussner '15 and Trevor Howard '15,  Dean of Golden Gate School of Law Rachel Van Cleave

9:15 am – 10:00 am
Reasonable Use Law in California

Sponsored by: Water and Power Law Group 
Host School: Golden Gate University School of Law

10:00 am – 10:10 am
​Break

10:10 am - 11:10 am
​A Tale of Two Counties: Efficiency in a Modern Climate

Sponsored by: Somach Simmons & Dunn
Host School: University of San Francisco School of Law

11:10 am – 11:20 am
​Break

11:20 am – 12:20 pm
​Just Pricing: Water Affordability and California's Human Right to Water

Sponsored by: Ellison Schneider & Harris
Host School: UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall)

12:20 pm- 1:30 pm
Lunch

Keynote Address by: Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board

1:30 pm – 1:40 pm 
Break

1:40 pm – 2:40 pm ​
Sustainable Groundwater Management

Host School: UC Davis School of Law
Sponsored by: Remy Moose Manley

2:40 pm – 2:50 pm ​
Break

2:50 pm – 3:50 pm ​
​The Role of Reasonable Use in Russian River Frost Protection Litigation
Host School: UC Hastings School of Law

3:50 pm – 4:00 pm ​
Break

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ​
Advancements and Challenges in Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Since 2009

Sponsored by: Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard
Host School: Pacific McGeorge School of Law

5:00 pm
​Conclusion

5:10 pm – 7:30 pm ​
Reception

6th Floor 

Panel Description

Introduction to the 2015 California Water Law Symposium

Golden Gate School of Law 
The development of California has always run parallel to the development of water. From the mining camps in the 1840’s to the present day, water continues to dictate how California conducts its daily life. This introduction will go over a brief history of how modern Water Law has developed and what are some of the major pit falls that continue to plague it to this day. The panel will be centered on the Reasonable Use Doctrine. The purpose of the Reasonable Use Doctrine provides, in part:
“The right to water or to the use or flow of water in or from any natural stream or water court in this State is and shall be limited to such water as shall be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served, and such right does not and shall not extend to the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use or unreasonable method of diversion of water.”
Written in to the California Constitution, the reasonable Use Doctrine only allows the “beneficial use” of water in California. As the panelist debate the importance of the Reasonable Use Doctrine, they will also challenge themselves and the audience, to gain a better knowledge of what could be changed, added, or deleted to this law and policy.

A Tale of Two Counties: Efficiency in a Modern Climate

University of San Francisco School of Law
In the driest months of last year urban water users across California failed to make substantive cuts in their water usage. Absent mandatory water rationing, how can these urban users cut back their use? Increased efficiency through recycled wastewater may be the best way for urban users to prepare for increasing scarcity. Rural Calaveras County has become a leader in wastewater efficiency. What can urban users like East Bay Municipal Utility District—which draws water from Calaveras County’s Mokelumne River—learn and apply from the successes of their rural counterparts?

Moderator

Richard Roos-Collins
Water  and Power Law Group, PC

Panelists

Tom Infusion
Foothills Conservancy
Dave Richardson
EBMUD Water Supply Management System
Chris Shutes
California Sportsfishing Protection Alliance

Just Pricing: Water Affordability and California's Human Right to Water

UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall)
This panel addresses pricing, one of the most powerful tools for influencing behavior in any arena. Pricing incentives have been implemented for water more slowly than other resources, in part because of the enormous social justice implications of pricing such a basic amenity. In 2012, California took a major step toward addressing affordability and access concerns by becoming the first state in the U.S. to legally recognize a human right to water. California’s Human Right to Water Bill, A.B. 685, aims to ensure universal access to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water for consumption, cooking, and sanitation. The bill directs state agencies to consider this policy when taking actions that may impact these water uses. Our panelists will discuss the social justice implications of water pricing and how this new law may shift pricing discussions in the near future

Moderator

Neli Green Nylen
Wheeler Institute for Water Law and Policy,
UC Berkeley School of Law

Panelists

Vern Goehring
Natural Solutions for Advocacy
Tam Doduc
State Water Resources Control Board
Collin Bailey
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, 
​Executive Director

Sustainable Groundwater Management

UC Davis School of LawAs the drought stretches into its third year, consumers throughout the state have increasingly turned to underground aquifers to supply their water resource needs. Effective groundwater management and monitoring is vital to sustain and support a healthy environment and economy within the state of California, yet the diverse range of users dependent on groundwater resources has made regulatory and monitoring requirements difficult to define. Following the legislative approval of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (AB 1739/SB 1168 and SB 1319), this panel will address the content, implementation, and implications of the new groundwater reporting and monitoring requirements on local municipalities, districts, and private users.

Moderator

Graham Fogg
Director, UC Davis Center for Climate Change,
​Water, and Society

Panelists

Peter Prows
Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP
Tina Leahy
Principal Consultant, Assembly Water,
​Parks & Wildlife Committee
Gordon Burns
Undersecretary, California Environmental
​Protection Agency

The Role of Reasonable Use in Russian River Frost Protection Litigation

 UC Hastings College of Law
The Russian River presents another classic California story of agriculture versus wildlife protection. The River flows through the heart of California’s wine country, supporting a world-renowned viticulture area and providing wildlife habitat for a variety of fish. During the spring, when grapes are particularly vulnerable to frost damage, vineyard owners will water from the river to continually mist the grapes and protect them from frost damage. This can negatively impact wildlife in the river. For example, as a result of frost protection diversions in the April of 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Services reported that some 25,000 salmon in the Russian River watershed were stranded (i.e., left without water) and died.In response the State Water Resource Control Board adopted Regulation 862, which required frost protection diverters of Russian River water to submit a “water demand management program” to the SWRCB with information about the amount of water regularly diverted from the Russian River for this purpose, the acreage and crops that received frost protection water, and alternative methods to direct diversion (e.g., off-river storage) for frost protection water. Panelists will discuss recent litigation over Regulation 862 and the SWRCB’s authority to regulate reasonable use concerns.  Further, the panel will provide an analysis of lessons learned from the litigation and how those lessons can be applied to other wildlife protection cases. 

Moderator

Tony Rossmann
Rossmann and Moore

Panelists

Nicholas Jacobs
Somach Simmons & Dunn
Brian Johnson
Trout Unlimited
David Rose
State Water Resources Control Board

Advancements and Challenges in Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Since 2009

Pacific McGeorge School of LawMaking California the largest farm state in the union, California's agricultural industry provides more than $40 billion to the state's GDP and supplies roughly half of the nation's fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Further, agriculture is the largest user of consumptive non-environmental water in the state. In 2009, the California Legislature passed legislation to accelerate water use efficiency in California's agricultural sector. Changes towards more efficient irrigation practices have the potential to yield significant volumes of water for environmental, urban, and industrial water users. While promoting greater water use efficiency in agriculture has legal and policy implications throughout the state, there are also crucial business and economic impacts at the farm gate and to local communities.
This panel will examine the programs that California has adopted to fulfill the 2009 legislative mandate and will discuss the progress and shortcomings of California's agricultural industry towards achieving greater water use efficiency.  

Moderator

Kathy Spanos
California DWR, Office of Chief Counsel

Panelists

Mark Atlas
Downey Brand
Claire O'Connor
Natural Resources Defense Council
Peter Brostrom
DWR Water Use Efficiency Program

Symposium Organization

Symposium Chair

  •  Erik Faussner
  • Trevor Howard

Panel Chair

UC Hasting College of the Law
  • Natalie Koski-Karell
  • Patrick Andrews
  • Vincent Vu
UC Davis School of Law
  • Abby Bloetscher
  • Kaitlyn Kalua
  • Sophie Wenzlau
Golden Gate University School of Law
  • Andre Andoyan
  • Francisco Martinez
  • Nicole Suraci-Nguyen
  • Stephanie Smith​
UC Berkeley School of Law
  • Allison Clark
  • Stephanie Postal
  • Zishan Lokhandwala
University of San Francisco School of Law
  • Derek Sagehorn
  • Mila Buckner
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School
of Law
  • Adam Borchard
  • Adam Silva
  • Jaclyn Shanahan
  • Kayla Cox

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Host Sponsor
  • University of San Francisco
Participant Schools
  • UC Berkeley School of Law
    ​Golden Gate University
  • University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
  • UC Davis School of Law
  • UC Hasting College of Law
Advertising Sponsor
  • Maven's Notebook
  • The Bar Association of San Francisco
  • McCarthy Center For Public Service and the
    ​Common Good
  • University of San Francisco
Keynote Sponsors
  • ​Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP
Symposium Sponsors
  • Stoel Rives LLP
  • Water and Power Law Group PC
Panel Sponsors
  • Hanson Bridgett
  • Schneider & Harris LLP
  • RMM
  • Somach Simmons & Dunn
  • Downey Brand LLP Ellison
  • Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard
Contributing Sponsors
  • University of San Francisco Master of Science
    ​in Environmental Management
  • Rossmann and Moore
  • Cline Family Cellars
  • Fort Point Beer Co.
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  • Home
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    • Symposium Chairs
    • Panel Chairs
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    • Agenda
    • Panel Descriptions & MCLE
  • Parking and Transportation
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