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Water rights in California Whether a new off-grid home can legally get its own water in California: the state well and water-rights rules, then the 45 counties where a specific groundwater basin adds a catch — each cited to the state water agency.
California water rules
Household well Permit required — restricted California requires no STATE permit for a domestic well — wells are permitted by the county — but under SGMA a Groundwater Sustainability Agency can meter or restrict new wells in medium/high-priority and critically overdrafted basins, and Executive Order N-7-22 requires counties in those basins to get GSA verification that a new well is consistent with the Groundwater Sustainability Plan before permitting.
Limit: 2 acre-feet/year de minimis under SGMA (Water Code §10721(e)) — largely exempt from GSA metering/fees
California DWR / State Water Board — SGMA de minimis & EO N-7-22 Action 9 FAQ ↗ Greywater reuse Rainwater harvesting encouraged Legal under AB 1750; property-tax exemption (SB 558) + rebates.
NCSL ↗ Water rights 45 constrained counties in California
Adjudicated Inyo County Owens Valley (Inyo) — Adjudicated Area / LADWP Long-Term Water Agreement 21 Adjudicated Kern County Antelope Valley Basin — Adjudicated 34 Adjudicated Los Angeles County Central & West Coast Basins — Adjudicated 32 Adjudicated Monterey County Seaside Basin — Adjudicated 50 Adjudicated Riverside County Chino Basin — Adjudicated 31 Adjudicated San Bernardino County Chino Basin — Adjudicated 20 Adjudicated San Diego County Borrego Springs Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted (Adjudicated) 48 Adjudicated San Luis Obispo County Los Osos Valley Basin — Critically Overdrafted (Adjudicated) 52 Adjudicated Santa Barbara County Santa Maria Valley Basin — Adjudicated 39 Adjudicated Siskiyou County Scott River Stream System — Adjudicated 47 Adjudicated Ventura County Santa Paula & Las Posas Valley Basins — Adjudicated 43 Over-appropriated Calaveras County Eastern San Joaquin Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 54 Over-appropriated Fresno County Kings Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 45 Over-appropriated Kings County Kings Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 25 Over-appropriated Madera County Madera Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 41 Over-appropriated Merced County Merced Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 39 Over-appropriated San Benito County Pajaro Valley Basin — Critically Overdrafted 50 Over-appropriated San Joaquin County Eastern San Joaquin Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 24 Over-appropriated Santa Cruz County Santa Cruz Mid-County Basin — Critically Overdrafted 37 Over-appropriated Stanislaus County Eastern San Joaquin Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 34 Over-appropriated Tulare County Kings Subbasin — Critically Overdrafted 41 Actively managed Alameda County Niles Cone & Livermore Valley Basins — Medium Priority 24 Actively managed Butte County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 57 Actively managed Colusa County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 41 Actively managed Contra Costa County East Contra Costa Subbasin — Medium Priority 25 Actively managed Glenn County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 53 Actively managed Humboldt County Eel River Valley Basin — Medium Priority 61 Actively managed Lake County Big Valley Basin (5-015, Lake County) — Medium Priority 49 Actively managed Lassen County Big Valley Basin (5-004, Lassen-Modoc) — Medium Priority 53 Actively managed Mendocino County Ukiah Valley Basin — Medium Priority 58 Actively managed Modoc County Tulelake Subbasin — Medium Priority 46 Actively managed Napa County Napa Valley & Sonoma Valley Subbasins — High Priority 47 Actively managed Orange County Coastal Plain of Orange County Basin — Medium Priority 26 Actively managed Placer County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 59 Actively managed Plumas County Sierra Valley Basin — Medium Priority 49 Actively managed Sacramento County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 22 Actively managed Santa Clara County Santa Clara & Llagas Area Subbasins — High Priority 37 Actively managed Shasta County Redding Area Subbasins (Anderson, Enterprise) — Medium Priority 56 Actively managed Sierra County Sierra Valley Basin — Medium Priority 53 Actively managed Solano County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 19 Actively managed Sonoma County Napa Valley & Sonoma Valley Subbasins — High Priority 52 Actively managed Sutter County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 42 Actively managed Tehama County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 54 Actively managed Yolo County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 47 Actively managed Yuba County Sacramento Valley high-priority subbasins 53 Keep exploring California See the full California county ranking , compare states on the water-rights hub , or read how we score water access . We dim physical water — never erased — where a county sits in one of these basins, household-first.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
