(a) This article shall only apply to conduits located within the County of Siskiyou.

(b) Where a conduit is constructed across or buried beneath the lands of two or more landowners, and the conduit is not under the control or management of any public agency or authority, a landowner whose property the conduit is constructed across or buried beneath may modify or replace the conduit on or beneath their land if the modification or replacement is made in a manner that does not impede the flow of the water to any other water right holder receiving a benefit of the conduit.

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(c) Where a conduit is constructed across or buried beneath the lands of two or more landowners, and the conduit is not under the control or management of any public agency or authority, a water right holder to the water in the conduit may modify or replace the conduit on or beneath the land of any landowner whose land the conduit is constructed across or buried beneath if the modification or replacement is made in a manner that does not impede the flow of the water to any other water right holder receiving a benefit of the conduit.

(d) (1) If a water right holder makes a modification or replacement pursuant to subdivision (c), written permission is required if the conduit is constructed across or buried beneath lands owned by a public landowner.

(2) A water right holder proposing a modification or replacement pursuant to subdivision (c) shall provide written notice at least 30 days before the start of the modification or replacement when proposing work on land owned by a public landowner, including detailed information on the proposed work and access to the conduit on the land.

(3) A public landowner may condition its permission or deny a request.

(4) A public landowner granting permission has no obligation to investigate the applicability of subdivision (c) to the proposed modification or replacement and shall not be liable to any other affected landowner if the landowner requesting to do the modification or replacement does not have the authority pursuant to that subdivision.

(e) A landowner or water right holder proposing a modification or replacement pursuant to subdivision (c) shall provide written notice to a private landowner at least 30 days before the start of the modification or replacement when proposing work on land owned by the private landowner, and shall include detailed information on the proposed work and access to the conduit on the land in the written notice. The landowner or water right holder proposing a modification or replacement of a conduit shall be liable for any damage to a private landowner’s property that may occur during the replacement or modification.

(f) Any increased operation costs, maintenance costs, or other expenses involved in the modification or replacement of the conduit shall be the responsibility of the landowner or water right holder who makes the change.

(g) Nothing in this section gives a landowner or water right holder the right to alter the flow of water in a manner that would negatively affect other water right holders that benefit from use of the conduit.

(h) If provisions regarding access to, or a modification or replacement of, a conduit are provided for in a recorded easement or an agreement among the affected landowners or water right holders that is inconsistent with this section, the provisions of the easement or agreement shall control.

(i) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Modify or replace” includes the ability to install new, or improve existing, piping, lining, or other methods that provide for conservation and beneficial use of water, as provided in Section 100.

(2) “Public landowner” means any district, governmental agency, or other governmental entity that owns an easement or any other right to land.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 889, Sec. 1. (SB 836) Effective January 1, 2024.)