Cal. WAT § 37900 — California Code / Code wat / Division 13 / Part 8.2 / Chapter 1 / Section 37900
Section 37900
Status: in_force

(a) For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Aquifer” means a geologic formation or structure that transmits water in sufficient quantities to supply pumping wells or springs.

(2) “Available supply” means that quantity of groundwater that can be withdrawn in any given year from a groundwater basin or aquifer without resulting in or aggravating conditions of overdraft, subsidence, or groundwater quality degradation. Available supply of a groundwater basin or aquifer includes the natural water supply, imported water, or other water that has been spread to a basin or aquifer or otherwise added to a basin or aquifer, and return flows to the basin or aquifer attributable to these sources reaching the groundwater basin or aquifers in the course of use.

(3) “Board” means the board of directors of the Paso Robles Basin Water District.

(4) “Conjunctive use” means the coordinated operation of a groundwater basin and groundwater and surface water supplies. Conjunctive use includes increased groundwater use or decreased groundwater replenishment with surface supplies in years when surface supplies are less than normal and, in years of more abundant surface supplies, the increased use of surface water in lieu of groundwater, either to allow groundwater levels to recover or to replenish artificial groundwater supplies. Conjunctive use also includes long-term storage of water in a groundwater basin.

(5) “County” means the County of San Luis Obispo.

(6) “District” means the Paso Robles Basin Water District, the boundaries of which shall be established and may be modified by the San Luis Obispo County Local Agency Formation Commission.

(7) “Excess extractions” means those extractions in excess of an operator’s extraction allocation or adjusted extraction allocation.

(8) “Extraction” means the act of obtaining groundwater by pumping or other controlled means.

(9) “Extraction allocation” means the amount of groundwater that may be extracted from an extraction facility during a calendar year before a surcharge is imposed.

(10) “Extraction surcharge” means a surcharge assessed annually each time an operator exceeds his or her extraction allocation.

(11) “Extraction facility” means any device or method for the extraction of groundwater within a groundwater basin or aquifer.

(12) “Groundwater” means water beneath the surface of the earth within the zone below the water table in which the soil is completely saturated with water.

(13) “Groundwater basin” means a geologically and hydrologically defined area containing one or more aquifers that store and transmit water yielding significant quantities of water to wells.

(14) “Groundwater management activities” means programs, measures, or actions taken to preserve, protect, and enhance groundwater resources within the territory of the district.

(15) “Groundwater rights adjudication” means the determination of substantially all rights in a groundwater basin or the area subject to the adjudication.

(16) “Operator” means a person who operates a groundwater extraction facility. In the event the district is unable to determine who operates a particular extraction facility, then “operator” shall mean the person to whom the extraction facility is assessed by the county assessor or, if not separately assessed, the person who owns the land upon which the extraction facility is located.

(17) “Overdraft” means the condition of the groundwater basin or aquifer where the average annual amount of water extracted exceeds the average annual supply of water to a basin or aquifer.

(18) “Program” means a groundwater management program prepared by the district pursuant to this act.

(19) “Recharge” means the natural or artificial replenishment of groundwater storage by percolation or injection of one or more sources of water at the surface.

(20) “Replenishment” means spreading water over a permeable area for the purpose of allowing it to percolate to groundwater basins or aquifers, or otherwise adding water to groundwater basins or aquifers.

(21) “Safe yield” means the condition of a groundwater basin when the total average annual groundwater extractions are equal to, or less than, the total average annual groundwater recharge, either naturally or artificially.

(22) “Supplemental water” means surface water or groundwater imported from outside the watershed or watersheds of the groundwater basin or aquifer and floodwaters that are conserved and saved within the watershed or watersheds that would otherwise have been lost or would not have reached the groundwater basin or aquifers.

(23) “Well interference” means a substantial water level decline in a short time period in a localized area caused by pumping from extraction facilities.

(b) This part shall apply only to the Paso Robles Basin Water District.