Opinion ID: 1170215
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Rights of Parties in San Fernando Basin

Text: Water rights in the San Fernando basin are claimed by plaintiff, the defendants Glendale and Burbank, and seven private defendants. Our conclusions on these claims are as follows: 1. Plaintiff has a pueblo right to all ground water in the San Fernando basin derived from precipitation within the ULARA, insofar as plaintiff uses such water to satisfy its municipal needs and the needs of its inhabitants. 2. Plaintiff has a right to all San Fernando basin ground water derived from water imported by plaintiff from outside the ULARA and either spread or delivered within the ULARA, insofar as plaintiff applies such derived water to reasonable beneficial uses. 3. The defendants Glendale and Burbank each have a prior right to all San Fernando basin ground water derived from water that such city imports from outside the ULARA and delivers within the ULARA, insofar as the city applies such derived water to reasonable beneficial uses. [92] 4. Any prescriptive claims among plaintiff and the two defendant cities and any such claims by any private defendant against plaintiff or either of the two defendant cities are barred by the provisions of section 1007 of the Civil Code as in effect since 1935. [93] Such prescriptive claims by the two defendant cities against plaintiff are also barred by the judgments affirmed in City of L.A. v. City of Glendale, supra, 23 Cal.2d 68. 5. Plaintiff's pueblo right and the respective imported water rights of plaintiff and each defendant city are mutually exclusive and of equal priority. All such rights are prior to rights dependent on ownership of overlying land or based solely upon appropriation of ground water from the basin. Therefore, all the rights of the private defendants are subordinate to the foregoing rights of the plaintiff and the defendant cities and all rights of the defendant cities other than their imported water rights are subordinate to the foregoing rights of plaintiff.