Cal. WAT § 5000
This is the official text of Cal. WAT § 5000, 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
As used in this Part 5, the following terms shall have the respective meanings stated below, viz:
(a) “Ground water” means water beneath the surface of the ground whether or not flowing through known and definite channels.
(b) “Surface water” means water on the surface of the ground.
(c) “Four counties” means the Counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Ventura.
(d) “Person” means all persons whether natural or artificial, including the United States of America, the State of California, and all political subdivisions, districts, municipalities and public agencies of or in either the State or the United States.
(e) “Sources” means any point of diversion or extraction of water and includes among other things wells, tunnels, and headworks.
(a) “Ground water” means water beneath the surface of the ground whether or not flowing through known and definite channels.
(b) “Surface water” means water on the surface of the ground.
(c) “Four counties” means the Counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Ventura.
(d) “Person” means all persons whether natural or artificial, including the United States of America, the State of California, and all political subdivisions, districts, municipalities and public agencies of or in either the State or the United States.
(e) “Sources” means any point of diversion or extraction of water and includes among other things wells, tunnels, and headworks.
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.