Non-Consumptive Water Use Permits

Pumping in accordance with Non-Consumptive Water Use Permits promotes the removal of contamination from the Central Basin and West Coast Basin and thus has a benefit to all users of the basins' groundwater. WRD considers granting Non-Consumptive Water Use Permits:

• in the Central Basin for programs that remedy groundwater contamination in accordance with the Central Basin Third Amended Judgment in the Case of "Central and West Basin Water Replenishment District, etc., v. Charles E. Adams, et al" (Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, Case No. 786, 656).
• in the West Coast Basin acting as the Administrative- Body on behalf of Watermaster in accordance with the Amended Judgment in the Case of "California Water Service Company, et al. vs. City of Compton, et al." (Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, Case No. C 506,806 ).

A party to the Central Basin Third Amended Judgment or West Basin Amended Judgment may petition the Watermaster Administrative-Body (WRD) for a Non-Consumptive Water Use Permit as part of a project to remediate or ameliorate groundwater contamination. If the petition is granted, the petitioner may extract the groundwater without the extractions counting against the petitioner’s rights.  

Replenishment Assessment Exemptions

Pumping as a result of groundwater contamination remediation has a direct and measurable impact on groundwater supplies in the WRD service area when the water is not treated and returned to the aquifers.

Pursuant to authority under California Water Code Section 60318, Replenishment Assessment Exemptions will be considered by the WRD Board of Directors for groundwater cleanup activities performed in accordance with a Non-Consumptive  Water Use Permit that return the extracted and treated groundwater back to the aquifers without degradation of quality so that there is no net loss of groundwater to the basins and replenishment water by WRD is not required. 

For groundwater cleanup activities that extract groundwater but do not return the groundwater to the aquifers, necessitating replenishment water by WRD, the Replenishment Assessment Exemption will not be granted by the Board of Directors except under special circumstances.