California Targets Private Property With Latest Water Well Fees, Charges: Report

[repete]

Big farms with lots of acres could hide a well or more but a residence? Not a chance. Enforcer just comes by and demands to see your meter.

Somewhere aound 30 years or so ago, Washington sate propsed to do that. It got shot down before it even got off the ground.

It has always been out there looking for an opportunity to make it law in Washington. It is not your water, it belongs to the state unless it floods and then it is not the state's water.

 

[Egon]

It may be the water rights have long ago been claimed. It will go as far as roof runoff water usage.

It’ll date back to the start of major irrigation. It also covers much more area tha one realizes. Like all of the Us and Canada.

 

[Jstpssng]

It may be the water rights have long ago been claimed. It will go as far as roof runoff water usage.

It’ll date back to the start of major irrigation.

That's something we don't understand on the east coast. Whoever pumps it first gets to use it. We also don't have the reserve shortages which they do out west.

 

[npalen]

Here in southern Ohio, cisterns are probably more common than wells. The cisterns are supplied either by rainwater from home gutters or commercial water haulers who bring in water. My house here has two large cisterns although we now are supplied by a private county water system.

As for saying that the state has no right to tax people's private wells, remember, those wells are tapped into underground aquafers that are often very large so someone pumping high volumes is taking water from under neighbor's land. Two acre feet is a lot of water, 28,000 gallons pr month. We only use 2500-5000 gallons a month with most of the variation going to watering our seven horses, So anyone using more than 2 a/f of water is probably a commercial operation, likely taking water from beyond their own land.

As I understand it, southern California has a major water resource problem so trying to limit excess use sounds reasonable to me, something rare for California politics ;-)

Ken

Wouldn't two acre feet of water equate to about 650,000 gallons or about 54,000 per month?

 

[npalen]

About every home in my neighborhood has a well for lawn irrigation. Some homeowners abuse it by watering their lawns on the same schedule regardless of rainfall. We see sprinklers running the day after a substantial rain. I doubt that many of them have any idea how much water they are pumping per week.

Edit: I grew up on a farm where we had to haul water for domestic and livestock use. It bothers me to see it wasted regardless of supply.

 

[Ken45101]

Wouldn't two acre feet of water equate to about 650,000 gallons or about 54,000 per month?

Oops! I calculated ONE acre foot, not two. Thanks for the catch.

(I will correct my original post.)

 

[ultrarunner]

I have been watching California politics since my first relative, sold out and moved back here. What I don’t understand is why more haven’t already left?

Janet

Reasons vary but for many family and business ties often lead and then there is the climate and natural beauty...

I've looked around some and California, Oregon and Washington seem to have a lot in common.

Spoke to a business owner that has a very good business, beautiful home and family that packed it all up collectively for Tennessee 5 years ago and they say regrets are few and they should have moved sooner in hindsight.

I think the limit on annual property tax increases keeps some here too... can be significant over the years.

 

[stuckmotor]

It would take a mighty powerful incentive to make me live in s place famous for catching fire every year that comes.

 

[ultrarunner]

That would cover most of the West and South

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2022/wildfire-risk-map-us/

 

[fatjay]

It would take a mighty powerful incentive to make me live in s place famous for catching fire every year that comes.

http://whereiscaliforniaonfire.com/

I've checked fairly frequently, year round, and have never seen there be no fires.