1. (a) General Applicability. Except as described in sections 939.1 through 939.6 and in paragraph (3) below, this chapter applies to diverters who are authorized to divert water under any of the following:

   1. (1) Any claimed water right that has a maximum allowable diversion amount greater than 10 acre-feet per year; or
   2. (2) Any combination of claimed water rights held by the same diverter that either diverts from the same point of diversion or diverts to the same reservoir, if the sum of the maximum allowable diversion amounts under such claimed water rights is greater than 10 acre-feet per year.
   3. (3) Stockpond certificates, and registrations for small domestic use, livestock stockponds, and cannabis cultivation are not subject to the requirements of this chapter. The maximum allowable diversion amounts or rates, authorized points of diversion, and storage locations or capacities for these do not need to be considered in determining applicability or any requirements of diverters under this chapter.

2. (b) Large Diversions. Except as described in sections 939.1 through 939.6, the additional measurement and submission requirements described in subdivision (b) of section 933 and subdivision (b) of section 935, respectively, are referred to as the “large diversion requirements” and apply as follows:

   1. (1) Large Diversion Applicability. The large diversion requirements of this chapter apply to diverters who are authorized to divert water either:

      1. (A) At any point of diversion that is shared by multiple claimed water rights held by the same diverter, if the sum of the maximum allowable diversion amounts or maximum allowable direct diversion rates of such claimed water rights at the point of diversion is greater than 10,000 acre-feet per year or 30 cubic feet per second, respectively; or

      2. (B) Under any claimed water right that has a maximum allowable diversion amount greater than 10,000 acre-feet per year or that is authorized to directly divert more than 30 cubic feet per second at any time, with the following exceptions:

         1. (i) Rediversions Under Claimed Water Rights. Any point of diversion that diverts significantly less than 10,000 acre-feet per year or 30 cubic feet per second and operates solely for rediversion is not required to meet the large diversion requirements of this chapter unless otherwise required pursuant to subdivision (c) of section 933.
         2. (ii) Claimed Water Rights with Small Points of Diversion. Diverters may submit an alternative compliance plan in accordance with section 936 for the purpose of excluding from the large diversion requirements of this chapter any point of diversion that diverts significantly less than 10,000 acre-feet per year or 30 cubic feet per second.
   2. (2) Delayed Effective Date. For any claimed water right or point of diversion that meets the large diversion applicability criteria described in paragraph (1) but does not meet the criteria described in paragraph (b)(4) of section 939.4 (previous applicability criteria for telemetry requirements), the large diversion requirements of this chapter will take effect on October 1, 2027.
3. (c) Qualifying Reservoir. Except as described in sections 939.1 through 939.6, the requirements for measuring and reporting withdrawals and releases from a reservoir or the total volume of water in a reservoir apply to any reservoir with a storage capacity greater than 5,000 acre-feet. These reservoirs are referred to as “qualifying reservoirs.”

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1058, 1840 and 1841, Water Code. Reference: Sections 13, 1846 and 5103, Water Code.

History

1. New section filed 3-21-2016 as an emergency; operative 3-21-2016 (Register 2016, No. 13). Pursuant to Water Code section 1841(b), the regulation shall remain in effect until revised by the State Water Resources Control Board.

2. Renumbering of former section 932 to section 939.3 and new section filed 1-21-2026; operative 2-1-2026 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2026, No. 4).