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Cal. WAT § 253

This is the official text of Cal. WAT § 253, part of California’s Water Code — governs water rights and water resource management.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

The department may acquire, either in fee or in any lesser estate or interest, any real property which it considers necessary for state water and dam purposes. Real property for such purposes includes, but is not limited to, real property considered necessary for any of the following purposes:

(a) For rights of way.

(b) For the purposes of exchanging the same for other real property to be used for rights of way.

(c) For rock quarries, gravel pits, or sand or earth borrow pits.

(d) For offices, shops, or storage yards.

(e) For parks adjoining or near any state dam or water facility.

(f) For the culture and support of trees which benefit any state dam or water facility by aiding in the maintenance and preservation of the facility.

(g) For drainage in connection with any state dam or water facility.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.