Cal. WAT § 9650
This is the official text of Cal. WAT § 9650, 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) (1) Commencing July 1, 2008, the allocation or expenditure of funds by the state for the upgrade of a project levee, if that upgrade is authorized on or after July 1, 2008, that protects an area in which more than 1,000 people reside shall be subject to a requirement that the local agency responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project levee and any city or county protected by the project levee, including a charter city or charter county, enter into an agreement to adopt a safety plan within two years. If a city or county is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project levee, the governing body shall approve a resolution committing to the preparation of a safety plan within two years.
(2) The local entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project levee shall submit a copy of the safety plan to the department and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
(b) The safety plan, at a minimum, shall include all of the following elements:
(1) A flood preparedness plan that includes storage of materials that can be used to reinforce or protect a levee when a risk of failure exists.
(2) A levee patrol plan for high water situations.
(3) A flood-fight plan for the period before state or federal agencies assume control over the flood fight.
(4) An evacuation plan that includes a system for adequately warning the general public in the event of a levee failure, and a plan for the evacuation of every affected school, residential care facility for the elderly, and long-term health care facility.
(5) A floodwater removal plan.
(6) A requirement, to the extent reasonable, that either of the following applies to a new building in which the inhabitants are expected to be essential service providers:
(A) The building is located outside an area that may be flooded.
(B) The building is designed to be operable shortly after the floodwater is removed.
(c) The safety plan shall be integrated into any other local agency emergency plan and shall be coordinated with the state emergency plan.
(d) This section does not require the adoption of an element of the safety plan that was adopted previously and remains in effect.
(2) The local entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project levee shall submit a copy of the safety plan to the department and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
(b) The safety plan, at a minimum, shall include all of the following elements:
(1) A flood preparedness plan that includes storage of materials that can be used to reinforce or protect a levee when a risk of failure exists.
(2) A levee patrol plan for high water situations.
(3) A flood-fight plan for the period before state or federal agencies assume control over the flood fight.
(4) An evacuation plan that includes a system for adequately warning the general public in the event of a levee failure, and a plan for the evacuation of every affected school, residential care facility for the elderly, and long-term health care facility.
(5) A floodwater removal plan.
(6) A requirement, to the extent reasonable, that either of the following applies to a new building in which the inhabitants are expected to be essential service providers:
(A) The building is located outside an area that may be flooded.
(B) The building is designed to be operable shortly after the floodwater is removed.
(c) The safety plan shall be integrated into any other local agency emergency plan and shall be coordinated with the state emergency plan.
(d) This section does not require the adoption of an element of the safety plan that was adopted previously and remains in effect.
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.