Sacramento Valley Water Users Lose Area-of-Origin Lawsuit

A federal court judge on Friday ruled against a northern California water agency in an area-of-origin water rights case.

Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that Central Valley Project contractors in the Sacramento Valley are not entitled to a priority of water allocations in dry years over exports to water contractors located south of the Delta.

Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, with landowners in Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, and Yolo counties, argued that its water users should have priority in dry years over federal water contractors south of the Delta based on the state’s area-of-origin water rights rules.

In 10 of the past 33 years, Tehama-Colusa has received less than its full water contract, causing shortages on the 150,000 acres of land it services.

A 2006 a water case dubbed "the Roby decision,” in which California appellate Judge Ronald Roby ruled that the federal Bureau of Reclamation was required to follow state rules, served as the basis for Tehama-Colusa's new lawsuit.

But the two cases were not identical, and in his 88-page decision, Wanger upheld arguments made by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and San Joaquin Valley CVP contractors.

Water Authority board chair Ken LaGrande said in a statement the agency will be analyzing grounds for an appeal.

Read more in the Chico Enterprise-Record and from Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority.