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Virtual course on Nov. 18 will certify senior water right holders who measure and report their own diversions.

Pamela Kan-Rice, Assistant director, news and information outreach, UCANR

November 4, 2020

2 Min Read
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Jess Gregory of Cottonwood, Calif.-based Gregory Engineering discusses flow meters with farmers who attended a University of California Cooperative Extension course on the state’s new water diversion reporting requirements April 4, 2019 in Redding.Tim Hearden

California water-rights holders are required by state law to measure and report the water they divert from surface streams. For people who wish to take the water measurements themselves, the University of California Cooperative Extension is offering a virtual training to receive certification Nov. 18. 

At the workshop, participants can expect to:

  • clarify reporting requirements for ranches.

  • understand what meters are appropriate for different situations.

  • learn how to determine measurement equipment accuracy.

  • develop an understanding of measurement weirs.

  • learn how to calculate and report volume from flow data.

Registration is $25 per participant. If you would like a binder of materials mailed to you, there is an additional $15 fee. A Zoom link will be sent to participants after registration. To register, visit http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=32393.

“We are limiting the number participants for thewater measurement training to 30 people,” said Larry Forero, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor. “If you need this training, register soon.”  

For more information, contact Forero at [email protected] or Sara Jaimes at [email protected] or call the UCCE office in Shasta County at (530) 224-4900.

Background

Related:UC course helps landowners track water use

Senate Bill 88 requires that all water right holders who have previously diverted or intend to divert more than 10 acre-feet per year (riparian and pre-1914 claims), or who are authorized to divert more than 10 acre-feet per year under a permit, license, or registration, to measure and report the water they divert. 

Detailed information on the regulatory requirements for measurement and reporting is available on the State Water Resources Control Board Reporting and Measurement Regulation webpage. The legislation as written requires for diversion (or storage) greater than or equal to 100-acre feet annually that installation and certification of measurement methods be approved by an engineer/contractor/professional. 

The California Cattlemen's Association worked with Assemblyman Bigelow to introduce a bill that would allow a self-certification option. Assembly Bill 589 became law on Jan. 1, 2018. This bill, until Jan. 1, 2023, allows any diverter, as defined, “who has completed this instructional course on measurement devices and methods administered by the University of California Cooperative Extension,” including passage of a proficiency test, to be considered a qualified individual when installing and maintaining devices or implementing methods of measurement. The bill required UC Cooperative Extension and the board to jointly develop the curriculum for the course and the proficiency test.

Source: University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset. 

About the Author(s)

Pamela Kan-Rice

Assistant director, news and information outreach, UCANR, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources

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