2009 California Water Code - Section 1245-1248 :: Article 5. Liability Within A Watershed

1245.  Every municipal corporation of this State, and every person,
firm or corporation engaged in supplying water to any municipal
corporations for municipal, domestic or other uses, who enters any
watershed, or any lands, streams or waters in the watershed for the
purpose of acquiring or increasing a water supply for such purpose,
or for the purpose of taking, diverting or transporting water for use
by or in a municipal corporation, or for the purpose of supplying
the needs of any municipal corporation, or its inhabitants, with
water for the enumerated uses, shall be liable to all persons, firms
and corporations, their heirs, representatives and successors, and to
municipal corporations, districts and political subdivisions of this
State whose property, business, trade, profession or occupation is
within or conducted or carried on within the watershed entered, for
all damage suffered or sustained by them either directly or
indirectly because of injury, damage, destruction or decrease in
value of any such property, business, trade, profession or occupation
resulting from or caused by the taking of any such lands or waters,
or by the taking, diverting or transporting of water from such
watershed to and for use by or in any such municipal corporation.

1246.  For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of any damage
claimed to have been suffered or sustained by reason of any of the
acts or things mentioned in Section 1245, every municipal corporation
and every person, firm or corporation causing any such damage, is
authorized to enter into an agreement for the arbitration or
compromise of any claims, and all of the laws of this State relating
to arbitration of controversies are made applicable to such claims.

1247.  Nothing in this article shall confer the right to recover
damages resulting directly or indirectly by reason of the
construction, operation or maintenance of any conduit, pipe line,
canal, ditch, aqueduct, reservoir, power transmission line or power
house.

1248.  This article shall be liberally construed.