Yuba County water rights battle: Agency versus irrigation district

California. And they’re certainly not a thing of the past in Yuba County.

Two local entities are locked in two legal disputes over water rights – who has seniority rights, what they can do with the rights and where resulting revenue flows.

The Yuba County Water Agency and the Cordua Irrigation District are engaged in lawsuits – one from 2015 and one from this year – over water transfers.

One lawsuit could cost YCWA $4.5 million if a Superior Court judge finds it wrongfully denied Cordua’s request to sell water in 2015.

The 2016 lawsuit could impose penalties on Cordua regarding a longterm plan to sell water if a judge finds the district did not go through the

proper process before approving the long-term deal.

YCWA is a public agency created by the Yuba County Water Agency Act of 1959. The agency’s original purpose was to provide flood control and accommodate water delivery. The agency now owns and operates the Yuba River Development Project, which includes various facilities along the Yuba River such as New Bullards Bar Dam, two diversion dams and three powerhouses. It also supplies water to its member units under contract.

Cordua is a local public agency serving about 30 customers in an area northeast of Marysville along Highway 20. The district diverts water from the lower Yuba River at Daguerre Point Dam and conveys the water to its customers for the purpose of irrigation.

In addition to the lawsuits, YCWA filed a complaint with the State Water Resources Control Board claiming Cordua was diverting without authorization, after the irrigation district decided not to renew a water supply contract the two parties had since 1972.

The two lawsuits and the complaint, essentially, boil down to who has the most senior water rights and what those rights entitle the holder to do.

The history of the two entities dates back over a century.

In 1914, a state Water Commission Act was created that granted an agency – what later became the State Water Resources Control Board – the authority to administer permits and licenses for California’s surface water.

“Water rights” are entitlements authorizing natural flow water to be diverted from a source for beneficial use. The entitlements are essentially property rights, meaning the holder of a permit or license does not own the water itself, they just have the right to use it.

If a water agency had licenses or permits for water pre-1914, that entity was considered to have senior water rights. If the licenses or permits were acquired post-1914, the water rights were considered junior. The earlier the rights are dated, the stronger the claim on use of the water – “first in time, first in right.” In times of shortage, agencies with senior water rights receive their allotments before those with junior rights.

Cordua has two pre-1914 water rights – one from 1874 and one from 1909. In addition to the senior rights, the irrigation district has two post-1914 licenses from 1940 and 1948.

Cordua’s board of directors is comprised of three people who act as the authority for all of the irrigation district’s decisions.

Charlie Mathews, chairman of the Cordua board, said the district’s water rights allow it to divert a total of about 60,000 acre-feet a year. (An acre-foot is equal to about 326,000 gallons – enough water to cover an acre – about the size of a football field – with water 1 foot deep.)

Mathews said Cordua’s water rights are all senior to YCWA’s water rights, which is the crux of the dilemma with the agency.

In 1959, YCWA was created after the Legislature and Gov. Edmund G. Brown Sr. approved a project tasked with controlling the Yuba River. The state came to the decision that an agency was needed following the 1950 and 1955 floods that caused significant damage and loss of life in Yuba-Sutter area.

Curt Aikens, general manager of YCWA, said the agency’s two main tasks are to provide reliable water supply for the county and to protect the area from flooding along the Yuba River.

YCWA is responsible for New Bullards Bar Dam, Englebright Dam and Daguerre Point Dam and is in charge of three powerhouse facilities along the Yuba River that generate electricity. That hydropower was controlled by PG&E the last 50 years as part of a deal involving the company helping with financing for construction. YCWA just took over operations this year and now retains revenues realized from sales of the electricity (the agency also has significant costs of upgrading the project to meet federal requirements).

The agency also has contracts with local districts to supply water from the river: Brophy Water District, Browns Valley Irrigation District, Dry Creek Mutual Water Company, Hallwood Irrigation Company, Ramirez Water District, South Yuba Water District and Wheatland Water District.

Cordua was also a member unit until its contract expired in May.

YCWA has multiple water right permits, its first being from 1927. The state assigned the permit as part of the Yuba River Development Project. Some of the agency’s other water rights require it to release water from New Bullards Bar Reservoir to supplement lower Yuba River natural flows to benefit fish migration.

In 1972, Cordua signed a contract with YCWA as a member unit to receive water deliveries, in addition to what it is allotted through its permits and licenses, to supplement irrigation needs in months that the district is unable to divert.

“The contract was for extra water through the late summer and early fall if we didn’t have enough natural flow,” Mathews said. “That (contract) gave us stored water if we needed it.”

Mathews said the contract provided 12,000 acre-feet of stored water in addition to its own water rights for 60,000 acre-feet, which could only be diverted April through October.

Aikens said the agreement was more than just allowing for more water. He said it was essentially a settlement contract that allowed both entities to agree on a set amount of water each year – up to 72,000 acre-feet per year – without having to figure out exactly what each permit and license allotted to Cordua.

The contract also had stipulations in it that brought diversions down during dry years, and also included pricing provisions.

Mathews said Cordua signed the contract at a time when water levels were low in the Yuba River because New Bullards Bar Dam was being constructed.

“Construction dropped Englebright Lake and we were worried that we wouldn’t have our crop water, so we worked for two years to get our contract,” Mathews said.

Now, without a contract between the two entities, the question has come up again regarding how much water each of Cordua’s permits and licenses allow for, which both sides disagree on. Marysville office, 1530 Ellis Lake Drive Business hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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