Mountain Counties Worried State May Upend Water Rights

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Sacramento, CA — There are three pieces of legislation up for debate at the California capitol that could have far-reaching impacts on water rights in the mountain counties.

A new myMotherLode.com blog authored by Justin Caporusso, Executive Director of the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association, lays out the concerns. The mission of MCWRA is to “promote the statewide importance of the Sierra Nevada water resources through advocacy and collaboration.”

The MCWRA has a nine-member board of directors, and the current President is Scott Ratterman of the Calaveras County Water District and the Vice President is Barbara Balen of the Tuolumne Utilities District. The board also includes leaders from counties like Placer, El Dorado, Nevada, Amador, and Yuba.

In the blog, Caporusso states, “The unintended consequences would be significant if these bills were signed into law. The state will waste valuable taxpayer funds defending against lawsuits – that’s not a threat, it’s merely an acknowledgment of what will happen if the government eliminates rights and tramples due process.”

You can read the full blog here.