Water Rights: Statement of Water Diversion and Use Program

General Information

California Water Code §5101 requires each person or organization that uses diverted surface water or pumped groundwater from a known subterranean stream after December 31, 1965 to file with the State Water Board a Statement of Water Diversion and Use prior to February 1 of the following year.

There are four exemptions to:

  1. Diversions from a spring that does not flow off the property on which it is located and from which the person’s combined diversions do not exceed 25 acre-feet in any year.
  2. Diversions covered by a registration for small domestic or livestock stockpond uses, a stockpond certificate, or a permit or license to appropriate water on file with the board.
  3. Diversions covered by a Notice of Groundwater Extraction and Diversion (Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernadino, and Ventura counties only).
  4. Diversions which are regulated by a watermaster appointed by the Department of Water Resources or a court where the watermaster files reports detailing the persons who have diverted and describe the general place of use and the quantity of water that has been diverted from each source.

An initial Statement should be completed for each point of diversion and should identify the amount of water used during the first water year. The Statement must be filed with the Division before February 1 of the following year.

The main purpose of the Statement Program is to create a central repository for records of diversions and uses of water. This repository differs from the records of appropriated water rights that are registered, permitted and licensed. A Statement is not a confirmed water right; it is simply a statement made by the person or organization who diverted and used the water. Divisions of Water Rights staff do not analyze the contents of a Statement, or research the legal water right status of the diverter at the time of receipt.

If an Initial Statement is deemed complete and all required information has been supplied, as outlined in California Water Code §5103, then staff will enter the Initial statement into our database (eWRIMS) and a Statement number will be assigned (i.e. S012345).

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Frequently Asked Questions & Program Forms

After your Initial Statement

After you file an initial Statement, there are two requirements you need to be aware of:

Supplemental Statements: A Supplemental Statement must be filed every year following the filing of an Initial Statement of Diversion and Use. The Division will NOT notify Statement holders when the annual report is due and we encourage anyone who would like to be notified of Online Reporting updates and news to subscribe to our Lyris list (Email Subscription) and selecting the "Water Rights Reporting Notification" under the "Water Rights" listing. The Division encourages you to keep your user ID and reporting identifier in a safe place for your annual reporting as you will not be supplied this information as in years past. Supplemental Statements or your annual reports must then be completed online through the eWRIMS Online Reporting prior to February 1 of that year (i.e. for water diverted during the 2016 Water Year, the Supplemental Statement is due by February 1, 2017). If the location of the existing point of diversion as identified on the Supplemental Statement has changed, the new location must be identified. If a new point of diversion has been added, resulting in more than one point of diversion, a separate Statement must be filed with the Division for the additional point of diversion.

Change of Diverter, Diverter Address or Responsible Party: Changes in the name and address of the person diverting water or a change in the Responsible Party should be made on the Supplemental Statement for Change form located at: Supplemental Statement for Change form so that the Division's database can be updated. The Division uses the Diverter information contained in the database to notify you of applications to appropriate water that may affect your supply, and also to notify you of any necessary news or information that might affect you as it relates to Statements of Water Diversion and Use. Failure to receive notification that a Supplemental Statement of Diversion and Use is due does not relieve you of the responsibility to report water diversion and use. It is your responsibility to notify the Division of Diverter/Address changes, of if for any reason a filing notification was not received. Penalties may be assessed if water is diverted but not reported.

  To file an online Supplemental Statement you can access the Report Management System (RMS) at eWRIMS Online Reporting.

Benefits of Reporting

In addition to showing intent to comply with the law, having a Statement on file with the State Water Board is beneficial for several reasons.

Read reporting requirements and Water Year Information at the Annual Water Diversion and Use Reporting Help page.

  • The information collected from the Statements helps the Division to protect the rights of existing and known diverters and to evaluate whether there is a reasonable likelihood that water is available for appropriation for new applications.
  • If the Division has a record of an active Statement with your contact information, the law requires the Division to notify you about applications to appropriate water that might affect your supply.
  • Water use reported on Statements and in reports required under the appropriation process will also help the Division to ensure the proper allocation of the State’s water resources.
  • If the water user meets the following three criteria:
    1. diversions and filings are in compliance with the Water Code;
    2. diversions occur under a valid water right; and
    3. Statements includes accurate monthly diversion amounts,

    ...then Statements create official documentation of compliance with water right laws.

Penalties and Recent Changes to Requirements

In recent years, the California Legislature has made changes to the forty-five year old Statement program. The purpose of these changes is to make the Statement program more effective as a tool for determining the amount of water beneficially used. These changes include:

  • Revisions to the types of diversions exempt from reporting.  NOTE: the exemptions at the top of this page are current.
    Reporting the following types of diversions is not required if the diversion occurred between December 31, 1965 and December 31, 2008:
    • The diversion was covered by an application to appropriate water on file with the board;
    • The diversion was included in the consumptive use data for the Delta lowlands published by the Department of Water Resources in its hydrologic data bulletins; or
    • The Department of Water Resources reported the diversion in its annual hydrologic data bulletins.
  • Revisions to the information required on a form, including accurate monthly measurements.
    See information regarding measurement requirements in the next section of this page.
  • Revised penalties associated with reporting inaccurate information, including creating a new penalty for failure to file. This table summarizes the differences in the penalties:

Violation

Old Penalty
(before 2009)

New Penalty (2009 and after)

Correction Period

Per Day After Correction Period

Failure to File None $1,000 30 Days $500
Accidental Misstatement* *Including those caused by a broken water measuring device $500 $250 60 Days $250
Willful Misstatement*
*Including those caused by tampering with a water measuring device
$1,000 $25,000 30 Days $1,000
Other Violation None $500 30 Days $250

Water Diversion Measurement

Diverters of water who file Statements are required to measure their diversions in accordance with Senate Bill 88 and the Emergency Regulation for Measuring and Reporting the Diversion of Water. For additional information on the measurement regulations and requirements, please review the information on our website at Measurement Regulation and Measurement Information