Ellison, Schneider & Harris, Attorneys at Law

Water

• Water
• Water Rights
• Water Transfers
• Groundwater, Groundwater Management and Conjunctive Use
• Fisheries and Endangered Species Compliance
• Water Quality Permitting and Compliance
• CEQA and NEPA Documents and Compliance
• Negotiation, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Groundwater, Groundwater Management and Conjunctive Use

California relies extensively on groundwater as a source of its water supply for both municipal and agricultural supply. There are few areas with greater legal uncertainty or factual complexity than groundwater. California does not have an integrated groundwater/surface water appropriation system, making necessary the development of groundwater management plans to ensure effective use of the resource.

Ellison Schneider & Harris has worked extensively on groundwater issues. The founding member of Ellison Schneider & Harris’s water practice group, Anne Schneider, authored the Governor’s Commission to Review California Water Rights Law – Staff Paper No. 2, “Groundwater Rights in California” (July 1977) and still serves as special referee to the court in the Chino Basin groundwater adjudication. Ellison Schneider & Harris also serves as general counsel to a groundwater authority underlying a large metropolitan area, and has been involved in a significant number of groundwater disputes involving both water rights and water quality. Ellison Schneider & Harris has helped with the development of numerous groundwater plans.