Internal prototype — noindexed, not linked from public navigation yet.

Cal. WAT § 382

This is the official text of Cal. WAT § 382, 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

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every local or regional public agency authorized by law to serve water to the persons or entities within the service area of the agency may sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise transfer, for use outside the agency, either or both of the following:

(1) Water that is surplus to the needs of the water users of the agency.

(2) Water, the use of which is voluntarily foregone, during the period of the transfer, by a water user of the agency.

(b) This chapter does not prohibit or restrict the transfer of water or water rights by local or regional public agencies pursuant to other provisions of law.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in California?

Find a California lawyer
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.