38th Environmental Permitting Summer School

To prevent significant harm to the water resource, the water management districts must adopt minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for waterbodies and groundwater according to an annual priority list. If the waterbody does not meet or is projected not to meet, the adopted minimum flow or level, the district must adopt a recovery or prevention strategy. Some districts are re-evaluating their minimum flows and levels to see if they were set correctly. Minimum flows and levels and their associated prevention or recovery strategies can affect water users by causing cutbacks on existing sources, forcing the development of alternative water supplies, and forcing participation in aquifer or surface water body recharge projects, in each case creating general uncertainty. A Water Reservation sets aside a volume of water for the protection of fish and wildlife or public health and safety.  Reserved volumes of water are unavailable for allocation to consumptive uses. This course focuses on the process by which MFLs and water reservations are developed and adopted, while also identifying where MFLs and water reservations are already in place or are scheduled for adoption in the future, how water users are impacted, and what you can do to protect your water uses.