Water, environmental hazards, and special lands

A stream, well, or reservoir on a property does not by itself establish an unlimited right to use the water. California law distinguishes kinds of water, bases of rights, priorities, locations of use, and regulatory obligations. A right to use water is different from ownership of every molecule that happens to cross a parcel.

The constitutional standard of reasonable and beneficial use limits water rights. A senior right is not permission to waste water. A buyer evaluating irrigated land needs to understand the legal entitlement and the practical availability of water. A valid right may provide little actual supply during some conditions, and an apparently productive well may face pumping limits.

A riparian right is associated with qualifying land adjoining a natural watercourse and generally concerns reasonable use of its natural flow on riparian land. It is not a general right to export water to any distant property owned by the same person. Riparian use ordinarily does not authorize storing wet-season flows for use during a later dry season under that right alone. Riparian rights generally are not lost simply by nonuse.

An appropriative right is based on lawful diversion and use rather than merely adjoining the source. New appropriations of surface water generally require State Water Board authorization, while valid pre-1914 appropriative rights fall into a distinct historical category. Among appropriative rights, priority is generally associated with the time the right was established. The common phrase "first in time, first in right" does not eliminate reasonable-use requirements or other applicable limitations.

A historical right is not blanket authorization to expand a diversion. If an owner proposes more than the established pre-1914 quantity, verify authority for the increase. A claimed historical expansion requires its own supporting facts, including a qualifying pre-1914 plan and diligent development where that doctrine applies.

An overlying groundwater right concerns use on land above the groundwater basin. Rights among overlying owners are generally correlative, requiring reasonable use with regard to others. Pumping for use away from the overlying land can raise a different priority analysis. Subterranean streams in known and definite channels receive distinct treatment from ordinary percolating groundwater.

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, SGMA, establishes planning and management requirements for covered basins through local groundwater sustainability agencies, with state oversight and intervention mechanisms. It does not mean that every homeowner needs a State Water Board surface-water permit for a well. It also does not mean that a well owner is free from local pumping rules, reporting, fees, or basin restrictions.

Littoral is a term commonly associated with land bordering standing water such as a lake or ocean. On a California exam, recognize the vocabulary without importing an unlimited right to remove ocean or lake water. Pueblo rights are a special historical category associated with certain former Spanish or Mexican pueblos, not a right every city or private subdivision can claim.

Water can physically change land. Accretion is gradual addition of soil, and alluvion refers to the deposited material. Erosion is gradual wearing away. Reliction is exposure of land through gradual recession of water. Avulsion is sudden, perceptible change, such as a river abruptly cutting a new channel.

The distinction matters because gradual and sudden changes may have different boundary consequences. As a general teaching rule, certain natural gradual changes can shift water boundaries, while avulsion ordinarily does not shift the legal boundary in the same way. Actual outcomes depend on the type of water body, title, public trust rights, artificial causes, and applicable law. A salesperson should not calculate a new deed boundary from a recent aerial photograph.

Environmental hazards can arise from the site, the building, or neighboring uses. Lead-based paint, asbestos-containing material, radon, contaminated soil, underground storage tanks, and mold require different investigative methods. An ordinary visual inspection cannot rule out all of them. A material's presence, condition, exposure pathway, and proposed disturbance can affect the risk.

Federal lead disclosure requirements generally apply to covered sales and rentals of most housing built before 1978. Required information includes known lead hazards and available reports, along with prescribed disclosures and educational material. Buyers generally receive a ten-day opportunity for a risk assessment or inspection unless a different period is mutually agreed or the opportunity is waived in writing. These rules do not mean the seller must automatically remove all lead paint before every sale.

Asbestos risk depends in part on the material's condition and whether fibers may become airborne. Radon is a gas that generally requires testing; it cannot reliably be identified by smell. Moisture conditions contributing to mold call for investigation of both the growth and the underlying source. A licensee should communicate known facts and obtain qualified assistance rather than pronounce a building safe based on its appearance.

Federal CERCLA, often called Superfund, and California environmental laws can impose cleanup responsibilities in circumstances extending beyond the party who originally caused contamination. Potential liability and statutory defenses depend on specific facts and due diligence. A buyer should not assume that a contractual promise from a seller prevents a regulator from pursuing the buyer. A Phase I environmental site assessment is a records, site, and inquiry process; additional sampling may be needed when findings warrant it.

Earthquake fault rupture, seismic ground failure, flooding, fire, erosion, and landslide risk can affect use, construction, insurance, financing, and value. California's Alquist-Priolo framework addresses surface fault rupture in mapped zones. Seismic hazard mapping also addresses liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides. A property outside a mapped zone is not guaranteed free of risk.

Natural hazard disclosure, environmental review, building approval, and insurance availability answer different questions. A disclosure informs a buyer; it does not remove the hazard or prove the buyer can rebuild a destroyed structure. Current maps, site-specific studies, local approvals, and insurance terms need appropriate verification.

Coastal property may require coastal development review in addition to local approvals. California's coastal program includes public access and resource protection. Being outside the immediate beach frontage does not necessarily place a parcel outside coastal jurisdiction. The Coastal Commission and certified local coastal programs divide responsibilities under the applicable framework.

Tidelands and submerged lands can be subject to the public trust, which protects public uses associated with navigable waters. A waterfront deed does not automatically confer a private right to exclude the public from all nearby shore or water. Boundaries and grants require careful review.

Agricultural land may be subject to Williamson Act contracts that restrict use in exchange for assessment treatment based on agricultural or open-space use. Such a contract is not canceled merely because a buyer prefers a residential subdivision. Timberland production zoning and conservation easements can impose additional long-term limits on other rural properties.

Federal, state, and tribal lands may involve permits, leases, trust status, or jurisdictional rules unlike an ordinary private fee-simple sale. A buyer of improvements on leased land may acquire no fee title to the underlying site. Mineral interests can also be separately owned or reserved; owning the surface does not prove ownership of all extractive rights.

A buyer sees an orchard with a creek, a well, and an advertisement calling the property "development ready." Research reveals a Williamson Act contract, a groundwater sustainability agency, and a prior fuel tank location. Each fact raises a separate issue: permitted land use, lawful and available water, and potential contamination. None is resolved by the attractive condition of the trees.

For exam purposes, distinguish riparian attachment from appropriation, reasonable use from unlimited extraction, and overlying rights from unregulated pumping. Separate gradual changes from avulsion. Environmental disclosure is information, not remediation. Finally, identify special title and regulatory conditions before assuming that waterfront, rural, or publicly associated land can be used like an ordinary urban lot.