Professor Barton “Buzz” Thompson weighs in on the battle between California’s State Water Resources Control Board and senior water rights holders in this Los Angeles Times article. 

Regulators proposed a record $1.5-million fine Monday against a Northern California irrigation district after it allegedly diverted more than 670 million gallons of water illegally — a rare enforcement action that escalates the legal battle between Gov. Jerry Brown and the state’s oldest water rights holders.

In issuing its draft complaint against the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, the State Water Resources Control Board signaled a new willingness to confront the state’s senior agricultural water suppliers, many of whom insist that their water rights from 1914 and before are beyond government reach.

…

Therefore, the water board “clearly has some” authority over senior water rights holders, Thompson said.

But the question is: How much?

“The state has a strong argument,” Thompson said. “But we are in new territory now.”