Abstract

Of the six states that comprise this study of water marketing in the West, California appears to have the strongest statutory mandate to promote the voluntary transfer of water and water rights. These laws are designed to redress some of the chronic, and increasing, problems of water allocation among competing urban, industrial, agricultural, instream, environmental, and other uses. Paradoxically, for all of its legal efforts, there have been far fewer transfers of water in California than in any of the other five states reviewed in this symposium.

This article will analyze one-half of this paradox—the powerful legislative inducements to the creation of a broad-based market for water and water rights in California. The second half—the disparity between California law and California's experience—is beyond the scope of this introductory article and therefore will be the subject of a more extensive analysis of water marketing in California during the 1980's. Part I provides a summary of California water rights law. Part II reviews the statutory and common law rules that govern water transfers and describes the California Legislature's extensive efforts over the past decade to promote water marketing within the state.

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