Water Code, 1943

A district may make special appropriations of water for power purposes, subject to this article and the manner required by law.

Water used to generate electric power, to the extent it exceeds the district’s irrigation water use for that time of year, is subject to prior municipal appropriations made in good faith.

A district that sells electric power outside its boundaries must follow reasonable local rules, but not ones stricter than the Public Utilities Commission’s rules; it also may not charge or regulate differently outside the district unless the affected local governing body consents.

Districts that furnish electrical power must comply with Section 8029.5 of the Public Utilities Code.

The board may create or change a plan to provide pension or retirement benefits for district officers, directors, and employees.

The district may keep its own pension and benefit funds, or provide benefits to eligible officers and employees, or their beneficiaries, through insurance or other approved means.

The article leaves any district’s authority to participate in the State Employees’ Retirement System or a county employees’ retirement system unchanged.

A district that ended a retirement-benefit plan and joined the Public Employees’ Retirement System may adopt a plan to increase benefits for certain former employees, and the payments must come from the district’s general fund.

The district may provide, maintain, and operate flood-control works and facilities, but it is not required to do so.

An irrigation district may contract for flood-control works and may pay related costs, but it is not required to do so.

Section 22160 applies only to districts with 200,000 acres or more.

This article applies only if an election is called and held under the article and a majority of votes on the proposal are Yes.

The board may, by resolution and at its discretion, call an election on whether the district should provide sewage disposal service.

Ballots must include voter instructions that comply with Section 13204 of the Elections Code.

Voters must vote on the proposal by selecting the target next to either “Yes” or “No.”

Election notices must state the election purpose, day, hours, and polling places, and must be posted and published before the election.

The election must be held, and the result determined and declared, as nearly as practicable in line with general district elections.

A district may provide sewage collection, disposal, treatment, and related mains and facilities within all or part of its boundaries.

A district may charge and collect certain sewage-disposal-related charges, but only within the area to be served.

Provisions that apply to irrigation are also to be construed and enforced to apply to sewage disposal in this division.

District officers, agents, and employees have the same powers and duties for sewage disposal as they have for irrigation.

District boards, officers, agents, and employees must do all necessary and proper acts to build and operate the sewage collection and disposal system.

A district may build, maintain, and run recreational facilities connected to its dams, reservoirs, or other works it owns or controls.

A district may set and collect reasonable charges for public use of its recreational facilities.

Each district has power to do whatever acts are necessary to carry out this division.

A district may build the works needed to collect water for the district.

A district may acquire water-storage or water-conveyance rights, and may grant those rights to owners or lessees of water-use rights.

A district may enter into agreements with persons, public corporations, or agencies to exchange, transfer, or deliver water rights or water.

A district may make and perform necessary contracts to carry out its purposes.

A district may contract to acquire and operate needed or desirable equipment for putting water under its control to beneficial use.

A district may hire an agriculture expert and other necessary employees to carry out listed district work.

A district and a county may contract to share and allocate costs for locating, removing, repairing, or relocating facilities on each other’s roads or property.

A district may contract to operate, maintain, or improve ditches and laterals it does not own, if at least two-thirds of the landowners served by those ditches or laterals petition for it.

A district may share information with the public about its rights, properties, and activities.

Districts must apportion water used for irrigation ratably to each landowner, unless this article provides otherwise.

A landowner may assign, for use within the district, all or part of the water right apportioned under Section 22250.

If a district sets water charges, the water must be distributed equitably to those who offer the required payment, as determined by the board.

The board may set a deadline for water applications, require a cash deposit, and in a shortage may prioritize or limit service.

A board’s change or fixing of the date does not take effect until notice is published in the required newspaper(s).

The board may set a deadline for water applications when supplies look inadequate, and the district may use crop-based methods to allocate water, set annual crop water requirements, and impose delivery refusals or penalties for overuse.

If a mutual water company has been formed to supply certain land within a district, the district may contract for water delivery for that land only through that company.

If a district is delivering water to a mutual water company, the water must be apportioned on a basis the board finds equitable and in the best interests of everyone concerned.

The district board may regulate irrigation water use and may require drainage facilities, and may limit water application to overhead sprinkling in certain risky soil or elevation conditions.

A district may refuse to furnish water to land it owns by collector’s deed or land tied to an outstanding unredeemed certificate of sale for unpaid district assessments.

Each irrigation district must adopt equitable water-distribution rules and make them available in printed form. The district may also refuse water delivery through unsuitable ditches or defective gates, and may require repairs before continuing service.

A district in this situation may regulate how water furnished outside its boundaries is used.

An irrigation district may contract to lease or sell surplus water, or surplus water no longer needed within the district, if its board decides that doing so is in the district’s best interests.

This article does not authorize the sale of any water right.

Use permitted under this article does not create a right in water or a water right owned by the district.

A person may not divert water from a stream or conduit if it would harm someone with an interest in that water, unless previous compensation has been ascertained and paid.

Chapter 4 of the Health and Safety Code generally does not apply to districts, except in specific areas where the State Department of Health Services gives written notice. In agricultural areas with only incidental domestic service, the department may direct districts and consumers to take reasonable and feasible steps to keep domestic water safe.

An irrigation district may charge for services it provides instead of, or partly instead of, levying assessments, and must follow notice, protest, and hearing procedures for new, increased, or extended assessments.