Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019 Amended IN Assembly March 21, 2019 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20192020 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 727Introduced by Assembly Member FloraFebruary 19, 2019 An act to amend Section 6004 of the Water Code, relating to water. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 727, as amended, Flora. Dams and reservoirs: exclusions.Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Existing law requires the department to adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to cover the departments costs in carrying out the supervision of dam safety. Existing law excludes certain obstructions from being considered a dam, including a barrier not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use.This bill would specify that a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use for the purposes of an exclusion from being a considered a dam dam, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Section 6004 of the Water Code is amended to read:6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.
Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019 Amended IN Assembly March 21, 2019 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20192020 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 727Introduced by Assembly Member FloraFebruary 19, 2019 An act to amend Section 6004 of the Water Code, relating to water. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 727, as amended, Flora. Dams and reservoirs: exclusions.Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Existing law requires the department to adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to cover the departments costs in carrying out the supervision of dam safety. Existing law excludes certain obstructions from being considered a dam, including a barrier not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use.This bill would specify that a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use for the purposes of an exclusion from being a considered a dam dam, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019 Amended IN Assembly March 21, 2019
Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019
Amended IN Assembly March 21, 2019
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20192020 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill No. 727
Introduced by Assembly Member FloraFebruary 19, 2019
Introduced by Assembly Member Flora
February 19, 2019
An act to amend Section 6004 of the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 727, as amended, Flora. Dams and reservoirs: exclusions.
Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Existing law requires the department to adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to cover the departments costs in carrying out the supervision of dam safety. Existing law excludes certain obstructions from being considered a dam, including a barrier not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use.This bill would specify that a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use for the purposes of an exclusion from being a considered a dam dam, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.
Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Existing law requires the department to adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to cover the departments costs in carrying out the supervision of dam safety. Existing law excludes certain obstructions from being considered a dam, including a barrier not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use.
This bill would specify that a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use for the purposes of an exclusion from being a considered a dam dam, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Section 6004 of the Water Code is amended to read:6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 6004 of the Water Code is amended to read:6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.
SECTION 1. Section 6004 of the Water Code is amended to read:
### SECTION 1.
6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.
6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.
6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.
6004. (a) No obstruction in a canal used to raise or lower water therein or divert water therefrom, no levee, including but not limited to a levee on the bed of a natural lake the primary purpose of which levee is to control floodwaters, no railroad fill or structure, and no road or highway fill or structure, no circular tank constructed of steel or concrete, or both, no tank elevated above the ground, and no barrier which is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and which has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use shall be considered a dam. For the purposes of this subdivision, a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. use, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.
(b) No obstruction in the channel of a stream or watercourse which is 15 feet or less in height from the lowest elevation of the obstruction and which has the single purpose of spreading water within the bed of the stream or watercourse upstream from the obstruction for percolation underground shall be considered a dam.
(c) The levee of an island adjacent to tidal waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220, even when used to impound water, shall not be considered a dam and the impoundment shall not be considered a reservoir if the maximum possible water storage elevation of the impounded water does not exceed four feet above mean sea level, as established by the United States Geological Survey 1929 datum.
(d) No noncircular tank, constructed of steel or concrete, or both, that is constructed in a county of the third class by a public agency, under the supervision of a civil engineer registered in the state, that does not exceed 75 acre feet in capacity or 30 feet in height, and no barrier that is not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal use as a sewage sludge drying facility shall be considered a dam.