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

Cal. WAT § 8708

This is the official text of Cal. WAT § 8708, 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) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the department, the board, the executive officer, or a levee-maintaining agency from taking any action to prevent an imminent failure of a levee, channel, floodway, stream bank, or flood control feature, or other emergency action necessary to protect the public welfare.

(b) To the extent emergency action is required that involves the removal, modification, or abatement of an encroachment, flood system improvement, or activity maintained by an individual or public agency, the individual or public agency may request a hearing before the board within 30 days after the action has been commenced.

(c) After a public hearing, by request or by its own motion, the entity that has carried out the abatement functions pursuant to this section may seek reimbursement of its abatement costs and may pursue any legal remedies available to recover its costs, including imposing a lien pursuant to Section 8704.2.

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.