§ 847.Issuance of Preliminary Injunction

A comprehensive adjudication can take years to reach final judgment, but a severely overdrafted basin may not be able to wait that long for relief. Subdivision (a) lets the court issue a preliminary injunction, after notice and a hearing, on a showing that the basin is in a condition of long-term overdraft as defined in § 832. Subdivision (b) says that Department of Water Resources bulletins and reports, along with a special master's report finding overdraft, are admissible evidence of that condition, without limiting other relevant evidence.

Subdivision (c) lists what the injunction may include: a moratorium on new or increased appropriations, limits or reductions on diversion or extraction, an allocation among the parties of extraction amounts allowed pending the adjudication, and procedures for voluntary transfers. Subdivision (d) makes the injunction mandatory, rather than discretionary, once three conditions are met: the basin is in long-term overdraft, it's been designated a probationary basin or missed Water Code planning deadlines, and no interim plan is in effect under the Water Code.

Subdivision (e) lets the court schedule phased reductions over time if reasonably necessary to reach sustainability within statutory timelines. Subdivision (f) protects the eventual final judgment: the preliminary injunction's terms don't determine the rights decided there. Subdivision (g) waives any bond or undertaking requirement for the injunction, and subdivision (h) lets the court appoint a watermaster to oversee enforcement.