Water Rights and Water Wrongs: Rethinking Equity in California

Legally-established water rights have long been a foundation for allocation and adjudication of access to water in California. They have also been a focus for controversy between various groups over whose needs and uses should prevail. This panel explores current issues in water rights including how entitlements are determined, if reforms are needed, and how water rights protections can be made to work for the benefit of everyone.

  • Date: 04/13/23
  • Time: 12:00pm
    • Lunch Reception: 1:00pm
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EVENT SPEAKERS:

Erik Ekdahl
Deputy Director, State Water Board’s Division of Water Rights

Erik Ekdahl is the Deputy Director for the State Water Board’s Division of Water Rights. The Division is responsible for establishing and maintaining a stable system of water rights to develop, conserve, and use the water resources of the State, while protecting vested rights, water quality, and the environment.  Erik joined the State Water Board in 2008, where he focused on nitrate and groundwater contamination.  He has worked at the Board in the Division of Financial Assistance, Division of Water Quality, and as Director for the Office of Research, Planning and Performance.  Erik is a licensed Engineering Geologist, with a PhD in Geology from the University of Michigan.

Doug Obegi
Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council

Doug Obegi is a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he has worked since 2008.  He has worked on a variety of efforts to reform water policy in California, including the implementation of the settlement agreement to restore the San Joaquin River, the proposed California WaterFix project, the update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, the 2014 state water bond, and various other state and federal legislation.  He has also represented NRDC in federal court proceedings regarding the protection of endangered species in the Bay-Delta watershed.  He is a magna cum laude graduate of the UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and works out of NRDC’s San Francisco office.

Dave Owen
Professor, UC Law San Francisco

Professor Dave Owen teaches courses in environmental, water, land use, energy, and administrative law at UC Law San Francisco. He went to Berkeley Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of Ecology Law Quarterly, and then clerked and practiced water law. In 2007, he began teaching at the University of Maine. He joined the UC Law faculty in 2015.  His research focuses primarily on water resource management, and recent projects have addressed environmental regulatory negotiations, takings litigation, groundwater-surface water interactions, the environmental consulting industry, the roles of federal regional offices, stream protection under the Clean Water Act, and policies to expedite dam removals and hydropower upgrades. Six of his articles have been recognized as among the top environmental-law articles of their years, and he has won UC Law’s highest award for teaching.

Elizabeth Salomone
General Manager, Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control & Water Conservation Improvement District

Elizabeth Salomone serves as the General Manager of the Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control & Water Conservation Improvement District and on the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Region 1 Board. Elizabeth is recognized as an open-minded, collaborative water leader in Mendocino County and the Russian River watershed, to help creatively unravel some of the most pressing water issues facing this predominately rural and disadvantaged area. She sits on numerous stakeholder committees and represents the region on local, State, and Federal platforms. From innovative project solutions to thoughtful relationship building, Elizabeth provides a unique new face in California’s water industry. She elevates building relationships and coalitions of support to improve resiliency and adaptive responses to environmental and social evolution.

Mariah Thompson
Attorney, Community Equity Initiative (CEI), the Environmental Justice program of California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA)

Mariah Thompson is an attorney for the Community Equity Initiative (CEI), the Environmental Justice program of California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA).  CEI provides legal representation to residents of low-income, rural, communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by overlapping environmental burdens. Mariah specializes in civil rights, environmental, land use, and housing law. She works with residents that face challenges related to water contamination, groundwater scarcity, and drinking and wastewater infrastructure inequities. Mariah is an alumni of the University of Virginia School of Law and lives in Fresno, California.

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