document_title: Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 17)

question_text: hell's kitchen season 17 episode 11 who went home

question_tokens: hell 's kitchen season 17 episode 11 who went home

text: Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 17)

text: Opening sequence[edit]

text: Ramsay uses his telekinesis to destroy Hell's Kitchen while leaving the building as the intro ends with the title card featuring him and the all stars. This is the first season that doesn't list contestants individually in the intro.

text: Chefs[edit]

text: 16 returning chefs competed in Season 17.[1]

text:
Contestant
Age
Hometown
Competed
Finished

Robyn Almodovar
36
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Season 10
6th

Jared Bobkin
31
Troy, Michigan
Season 15
4th

Nicholas "Nick" Peters Bond
28
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Season 14
5th

Dana Cohen
32
Emerson, New Jersey
Season 10
3rd

Giovanni Filippone
46
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Season 5
6th

Elise Harris
32
Stafford, Virginia
Season 9
3rd

Evan "Van" Hurd
34
South Glastonbury, Connecticut
Season 6
6th

Benjamin Knack
41
San Antonio, Texas
Season 7
3rd

Barbie Marshall
39
Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Season 10
4th

Milton "Milly" Medley
37
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Season 14
4th

Ashley Nickell
29
Orlando, Florida
Season 15
3rd

Jennifer Normant
40
Burlington, Massachusetts
Season 9
5th

Amanda "Manda" Palomino
32
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Season 15
5th

Michelle Tribble
26
Dallas, Texas
Season 14
3rd

Joshua "Josh" Trovato
28
Los Angeles, California
Season 14
6th

Benjamin "Ben" Walanka
36
Overland Park, Kansas
Season 5
4th

text: Contestant progress[edit]

text:
Original teams
Switched teams
Individuals
Final

No.
Chef
1701/02
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716

1

Michelle
LOSE
LOSE
WIN
WIN
WIN
IN
LOSE
LOSE
LOSE
NOM
IN
BoB
IN
IN
WINNER

2

Benjamin
WIN
WIN
LOSE
WIN
LOSE
IN
WIN
LOSE
WIN
WIN
IN
IN
IN
IN
RUNNER-UP

3

Nick
WIN
WIN
LOSE
WIN
LOSE
IN
WIN
LOSE
WIN
WIN
IN
IN
IN
OUT

4

Milly
WIN[n 1]
WIN
LOSE
WIN
LOSE
NOM[n 2]
WIN
NOM
WIN
WIN
IN
NOM
OUT

5

Robyn
LOSE
NOM
WIN
WIN
NOM
NOM[n 2]
WIN
NOM
WIN
WIN
IN
OUT

6

Jennifer
LOSE
LOSE
WIN
WIN
WIN
IN
LOSE
LOSE
LOSE
LOSE
OUT

7

Elise
NOM
LOSE
WIN
WIN
WIN
NOM[n 2]
LOSE
NOM
NOM
NOM
OUT

8

Dana
LOSE
LOSE
WIN
WIN
WIN
IN
LOSE
LOSE
LOSE
OUT

9

Barbie
LOSE
NOM
WIN
WIN
WIN
NOM[n 2]
NOM
NOM
OUT

10

Van
WIN
WIN
LOSE
WIN
LOSE
IN
WIN
OUT[n 3]

11

Manda
NOM
NOM[n 3]
WIN
WIN
WIN
NOM[n 2]
OUT

12

Giovanni
WIN
WIN
NOM
WIN
LOSE
OUT[n 4]

13

Jared
WIN
WIN
LOSE
WIN
OUT

14

Josh
WIN
WIN
NOM
OUT[n 5]

15
Ashley
LOSE
OUT[n 3]

16
Ben
OUT[n 6]

text:
Keywords

WIN = Won the dinner service
LOSE = Lost the dinner service

IN = not nominated for elimination
NOM = nominated for elimination
OUT = eliminated
LEFT = withdrew from competition

Color key
     Chef was eliminated after nomination
     Chef was eliminated without nomination
     Chef was eliminated during service
     Chef withdrew from the competition
     Chef was retained after nomination
     The winner of Hell's Kitchen
     The runner-up of Hell's Kitchen

text:
Jump up ^ Chef was immune from elimination
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Chef participated in the "Cook for your life" challenge
^ Jump up to: a b c Chef was nominated by Ramsay
Jump up ^ Chef was eliminated in the "Cook for your life" challenge
Jump up ^ Chef was eliminated by Ramsay during service
Jump up ^ Chef was eliminated by Ramsay despite being on the winning team

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

251
1
"All-Stars Arrive"
September 29, 2017 (2017-09-29)
3.02[3]

Ramsay calls up 16 chefs from previous seasons and invites them back to compete again in Hell's Kitchen. When they arrive, they are welcomed by fans, and their sous-chefs Christina and Jocky are introduced. Ramsay then reveals that the winner of this season will be the head chef of the new Hell's Kitchen restaurant in Las Vegas.
Team challenge/signature dish: Unlike previous seasons, Ramsay gives the chefs each different ingredients which they will use to create new signature dishes in 45 minutes, and go head to head on main proteins. The scoring system is the same 1–5 ranking. On the duck dishes, both Ashley and Jared scored a 4, while on the chicken dishes, Barbie scored a 3, while Ben scored 2. Both Giovanni and Jennifer score 3 on their lamb dishes while on the scallop dishes, Michelle scored 4 over Nick's 3. In the pork chop dishes, Milly scored 4, while Manda scored 3. In the filet dishes, Dana scored 4 over Josh's 2, but both Van and Elise scored a perfect 5 on their lobster dishes. Finally, on the salmon dishes, Benjamin also scores a perfect 5, while Robyn scores a measly 1. The men triumph 28–27.
Rewards/punishment: The men went to Downtown Los Angeles to slide down the Skyslide at the U.S. Bank Tower and to celebrate their win with Marino. Afterwards, they had dinner with Ramsay at WP24 where they had their food cooked and served by Wolfgang Puck. The women, meanwhile, were forced to clean up the risers and confetti outside. While the women were angry at Robyn for costing them the challenge, they were even more annoyed at Elise for not helping out with the risers outside of Hell's Kitchen.
Challenge – part 1: Before the first service begins, Ramsay calls on the teams to the bar area. He announces that an individual challenge will take place before service that will have them cook a dish for the new bar menu with immunity on the line as the episode ends in a cliffhanger.

252
2
"Raising the Bar"
October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06)
2.80[4]

Challenge – part 2: Continuing from the last episode, Chef Ramsay announces this year Hell's Kitchen will offer a special bar menu; they are to create a bar menu item; whoever has the best item will be featured throughout this whole season and the winning chef from this challenge is also safe from tonight's elimination. He wants two plates from each and are given forty minutes to do it in. The sous chefs will sample each dish and then select four from each team. Michelle, Milly, Elise, and Van were in the Top 4, but Milly's hand-cut French fries topped with a lobster cheese sauce won him immunity for tonight's service. Michelle later expressed disappointment at this, as she felt her dish had been more adventurous whereas Milly's had been something he had made numerous times before.
After the challenge, Ben starts to feel unwell, and admits to his teammates that he was recently diagnosed with diabetes. With 30 minutes to dinner service, Ben goes to see the medic, who takes his vitals as he continues to worry about his diabetes and at this point needs to decide if he is going to take the chance or if he is "out". Ultimately, he decides to stay.
Service: A Hell's Kitchen first featured chef's table on opening night with Jordin Sparks in the red kitchen and Joe Mantegna in the blue kitchen. French Stewart, Keith Sweat and Kirstin Maldonado also attended as guests. Dana and Milly served tableside shrimp and pasta. For the men, Josh served perfect cold appetizers but took too long on them, irritating Ramsay. Jared and Ben served up a raw salmon. Ben took the blame for the blunder and suddenly became unbalanced, forcing Jared to catch him before he fell. They then serve an acceptable salmon. After that, however, the men had an almost perfect service, thanks to Nick and Giovanni serving perfect meat. For the women, Ashley served a soupy carbonara, but quickly served another one. Despite Robyn's strong performance on meat, Elise served up raw New York Strip twice, sending the women to the dining room to apologize. When the women return, Chef Ramsay calls over Giovanni to help Elise with the meat. With Giovanni's help, the women's entrees finally reach the dining room. However, Manda serves up raw salmon, then burns the skin on the refire for the chef's tables, leading to Ramsay kicking the women out of the kitchen with the men finishing opening night on a strong note.
Elimination: Manda was quickly agreed on as the women's first nominee, and despite Elise and Barbie trying to persuade the other women that Robyn should be nominated for not doing enough to help Elise on the meat station, Elise herself was named as the second nominee. The women are then asked by Ramsay who they would send home. Ashley, Jennifer, Barbie and Michelle pick Manda while Robyn and Dana choose Elise. To the shock of everyone, Ramsay sent Manda and Elise back in line and called Ben down, revealing that he would be the one eliminated as Ramsay felt his health problems would make him a liability and unable to effectively continue. This made Ben the eighth chef to be eliminated despite being on the winning team.
Ramsay's comment: "Big Ben? More like big liability. He clearly wasn't going to be able to keep up, so I had to let him down."
After elimination: After returning to the dorms, the episode ends in another cliffhanger as the argument between Elise and Robyn begins to implode.

253
3
"Tower of Terror"
October 13, 2017 (2017-10-13)
2.87[5]

After elimination – continued: Robyn and Elise have a heated argument over service which is only stopped when Manda drags Robyn to the other room. Prior to the next challenge, Josh threw up after consuming vitamins and chimichanga earlier.
Team challenge: Before the next challenge begins, Ramsay demonstrated how effective a chef's hands are by having a kid over to play speed stacking. Michelle and Jared then competed in a cup stacking competition, with Michelle easily winning in just 18 seconds, and Jared taking over a minute longer. The women gained a 30 second head start for the real challenge. The next challenge was to recreate a seafood tower with four tiers as different pairs of chefs replicated one part of the tower to Ramsay's approval. Despite the disadvantage, the men won the challenge by a matter of seconds, with the women losing their advantage after Michelle and Elise had major problems putting together the second part of the tower.
Rewards/punishment: The men were sent to Ocean Club in Malibu where they ate a seafood lunch with Jocky and Marino. They later played soccer with U.S. soccer Olympians Alyssa Naeher and Julie Johnston. The women in the meantime were forced to take in deliveries of seafood, prep it for service, and forced to eat a disgusting fish dish. Elise tries to weasel out of the dish, but Sous-Chef Christina forces her to eat it. As they were unloading the deliveries, Barbie annoyed her teammates by telling them what to do.
Service: Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, professional golfer Jon Rahm, and U.S. World Cup Champions Alyssa Naeher, and Julie Johnston were guests in the dining room. Michelle and Giovanni served a seafood appetizer tableside. The men continued their winning streak with a near perfect service thanks to Milly's leadership with the only problems being Josh briefly getting confused on orders until Jared helped him out, and Van momentarily delaying a ticket by not having the salmon quite ready in time. While the women had a good start on appetizers, they soon fell apart on entrees. Despite Barbie cooking perfect meat, she openly argued with and criticised Robyn, who sent up raw salmon. Ashley was kicked out of the kitchen temporarily for being distracted by her watch, and Manda again struggled on garnishes. When an overcooked lobster wellington comes up the pass, an angry Ramsay threw the women out for the second time in a row and had the men finish service.
Elimination: Ramsay called the women's performance even worse than the previous one, and ordered them to nominate two people. Barbie and Robyn were agreed on as the nominees, though Barbie argued that Ashley and Manda should be up as well; Ramsay agreed and brought up the four women. In the end, Ramsay eliminates Ashley for not doing much in service and believing she had no fight back left.
Ramsay's comment: "Ashley spent more time staring at her watch than paying attention to her station. And so, her time here on Hell's Kitchen is done."

254
4
"Just Letter Cook"
October 20, 2017 (2017-10-20)
2.86[6]

Team challenge: Ramsay brought everyone together for a game of chance. Both teams took turns in picking ingredients which started with a letter. As soon as a member could not think of an ingredient, the other team won the choice of an ingredient that had been said and were allowed to give the other team a bad ingredient. Each team member had to cook an individual dish using all of the ingredients on their team's list. The women chose mushrooms, snap peas, asparagus and rice and were given cantaloupe, peanut butter and blueberries, while the men won cauliflower, portabella mushrooms and bacon and were given maraschino cherries, syrup, artichoke and raisins. Barbie scored 4 (although she was unable to taste her own sauce as she was allergic to peanuts), Manda scored 2, Dana scored a perfect 5 but Robyn again scored a 1. Elise and Michelle also scored 5 while Jennifer scored 4. Milly scored 4, Van scored 3, Benjamin scored 5 and Jared scored 1. Nick scored 5, Josh scored 3 and Giovanni scored 4, giving the women their first challenge victory, 26-25.
Rewards/punishment: The women flew in a private plane to Santa Barbara to stay at the Belmond El Encanto resort. The men dealt with a delivery of potatoes and then sifted through garbage to find what was recyclable. During the punishment, the men became infuriated with Josh after he revealed he was a celebrity caterer who only worked three hours a day.
Service: Shannon Tweed dined in the red kitchen and Paige VanZant in the blue. Both kitchens had to prepare for a twelve-top table for a guest celebrating his 30th birthday. Ramsay had both kitchens coordinate their dishes in sync with one another for the appetizers and the entrees. Throughout the service, the red team had an almost flawless performance, as Michelle and Jennifer both managed to properly coordinate the kitchens so the twelve-top could be served. Their only real problems came with Michelle adding too much garlic to a risotto and Barbie temporarily struggling on garnishes, though even then, both quickly recovered. The blue team's service was much more rocky; Josh slowed the team on appetizers and then twice sent up far too many orders of risotto, with Ramsay making him eat the leftovers with the VIP guests. Giovanni sent up a burnt order of pork alongside a well-cooked one, and Benjamin and Jared sent up a raw order of duck for the twelve-top table, forcing Jennifer to step in and rescue the table. When Benjamin sent up a cold beef wellington, Ramsay threw the blue team out, having the red team finish their service and asking them to come up with two nominees.
Team change: The men voted for Josh to go up as he had consistently been the weakest performer, though Josh denied this, and insisted Benjamin and Giovanni go up. In the end, Josh and Giovanni were selected as the nominees. After they had both pleaded their cases, Benjamin raised his hand to state that the men had considered Josh their weakest member, agreed to by the rest of the team after questioning by Ramsay. Ramsay had Josh take off his jacket and sent him to the women's team, much to their dismay, before asking Robyn to move to the men's team. Ramsay believed Josh's team had given up on him while he himself has not seen either Josh or Robyn perform at their best, giving them both one more chance.

255
5
"Josh Josh Josh"
November 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)
3.10[7]

Team challenge: Bringing everybody outside, Ramsay explains that some chefs use wood planks to cook fish on, which will be their next challenge. Both teams will have three pairs of two and one lone chef cook their fish and produce over a fire pit on top of cedar wood or hickory wood. Ramsay is then joined by Chef Ben Ford (Harrison Ford's son) in the judging. During the challenge, Josh smothered the Red's Team fire causing frustration between him and the team. Both teams tie at 3–3, but Ramsay and Ford deem Robyn and Nick's dish the best of the chefs, giving the blue team the win.
Rewards/punishment: The blue team heads down to Apex Farm and enjoys a horseback ride. The red team also go to Apex Farm, but are forced to clean horse manure in a pen.
Service: Actor Shaun Brown was in attendance for this service. A tableside appetizer of smoked salmon rillette is served by Van and Barbie. In the blue kitchen, Benjamin uses oil on a non-stick pan for scallops but recovers, though he irritates his teammates by responding to Ramsay in French, though ironically, Ramsay didn't seem to mind. Robyn accidentally drops an order of chicken and serves a raw Beef Wellington, and Milly has trouble communicating with Nick on garnish. Otherwise, the blue team had a decent service. On the red team, Josh was slow on the fish and chips for the bar menu, leading Manda to repeatedly take over his station, frustrating him. After he serves poor spinach and liquid mashed potatoes, Ramsay catches him carrying cold garnishes with his bare hands when the entree it goes with is already at the pass. A frustrated Ramsay kicks Josh out of service, much to the relief of the red team who perform much better afterward, though Elise earned some of the other chefs' ire by standing around and doing nothing.
Automatic elimination: After a while, Josh decides to come back to the kitchen and fight his way back in. Ramsay, however, takes him into the back room and tells him that because of his poor performances, stubbornness, and failure to improve upon his past mistakes, he is eliminated from Hell's Kitchen, although he acknowledges Josh's big heart and talent. Josh takes his jacket off and leaves through the front door, making him the eighth person to be eliminated during service. Ramsay doesn't give an explanation for Josh's elimination, and his jacket is not hung up, nor is his picture burned.
After service, Ramsay decides to name both teams the winners, and nobody else is eliminated.

256
6
"A Little Slice of Hell"
November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10)
3.11[8]

After Josh's elimination and the post-service meeting, Chef Ramsay told the chefs to all get some rest, as big changes were coming. Everyone was relieved that Josh was gone, with Milly specifically stating that every remaining contestant hated Josh and that he was not at any of their levels, in terms of overall skill. They all sat around drinking and talking about each other's sex lives, making fun of who they thought was "vanilla," and who might be a freak in the bed. Suddenly, Van fell into the hot tub.
Team challenge: The challenge was to create and bake a pizza at the DeSano Pizzeria and Bakery. Each pizza would consist of ingredients inspired by a country selected by a random spin of a wheel, and each chef from one team would go head-to-head against a chef from the other team to create the better pizza as judged by Ramsay, Marino, and Chef Steve Samson. Barbie scored the first point for the red team against Robyn with her pizza inspired by India, with all three judges voting in her favor. Milly scored the first point for the blue team against Jennifer with his pizza inspired by Morocco, with Ramsay and Marino voting in favor of him, but Samson voting in favor of Jennifer. Manda scored the second point for the red team against Van with her pizza inspired by Vietnam, with all three judges voting in her favor. Nick scored the second point for the blue team against Dana with his pizza inspired by Greece, with all three judges voting in his favor. Neither Elise nor Jared managed to score a point for their teams with their pizzas inspired by South Korea. But Michelle scored the third and winning point for the red team against Giovanni with her pizza inspired by France. Because the blue team had an extra member, Benjamin's pizza, also inspired by France, was omitted in favor of Giovanni's, although the blue team ultimately regretted this decision due to Giovanni's pizza being burnt.
Rewards/punishment: The red team headed to The Magic Castle after a tour of Hollywood on a double-decker bus where they were entertained by Joel Ward. The blue team was forced to prepare the entire dining room for the upcoming Italian Night in Hell's Kitchen.
Service: Chef's tables were featured for Italian night as actress Melissa Fumero sat in the red kitchen while the blue team had a pair of VIP guests in their respective kitchen which includes 2012 Miss Universe Olivia Culpo and Victoria's Secret model Devon Windsor. A tableside Italian entrée was served by Nick and Elise. In the blue kitchen, Benjamin caused confusion by not communicating with Robyn in terms of when to drop scallops for their first appetizer. When the entrées rolled around, Van and Giovanni sent up a raw serving of lamb, which made Ramsay force the entire team into the pantry. Worse still, after returning to the kitchen, Van and Giovanni took too long in delivering the lamb, and when Van laughed at Ramsay's admonishment of Giovanni, Ramsay forced him back into the pantry to deride him some more. Later, Jared miscommunicated with his team and eventually lied to them about when his garnish would be ready (due to him being overwhelmed by how many different garnishes he was cooking at once). Unable to take being called out for it by the whole team, he faked a medical emergency by saying he had a cut on his finger that turned out not to be there (although he insisted that it was there), which left him room to leave the kitchen to see the medic (who would later confirm that there was, in fact, no cut). The final straw came when Robyn overcooked two orders of salmon, and Giovanni overcooked two orders of veal. Fed up with their mistakes, Ramsay chastised the blue team for not performing as strongly as they had on opening night, and then kicked them out of the kitchen, giving them the loss. Conversely, on the red team, Manda, due to having Celiac Disease, could not taste any of the pasta for the team's first appetizer and instead had to rely on Michelle to determine whether or not it had been cooked properly. Michelle mistakenly told her that it had been, but Ramsay sent it back when he revealed that it had actually been undercooked. She nearly misinformed Manda a second time, but thanks to Elise taking over tasting duty, Manda was able to deliver a perfectly-cooked pasta. Michelle then suffered a fall while trying to cook an order of lamb for one of the team's entrées (something that Manda considered to be karma for her pasta error), but still managed to cook it properly. Elise also tried much too hard to be a team player and annoyed her teammates in trying to assist them on their stations when they did not need her help. Besides these mishaps, the red team had a strong, solid service and were given the victory.
Elimination: After a long, heated debate back in the dorms that put Van, Giovanni, Jared, and Robyn in the crosshairs, the blue team nominated Jared for his "medical emergency" that disrupted the garnish station, and Robyn for her errors with the scallops and the salmon. Jared continued to insist that he truly had cut himself, while Robyn went as far as to plead with Ramsay to send her back to the red team since it had become clear that she was just not bonding with the blue team. In the end, Ramsay shocked everyone on both teams when he eliminated Jared for faking being injured and inconsistent performances. Jared exited while continuing to insist that his cut had been real, despite contradictory testimony from the medic.
Ramsay's comment: "Medic? More like, pathetic. While Jared's cut was imaginary, now he knows what it really is like to get cut."

257
7
"Trimming Fat"
November 17, 2017 (2017-11-17)
3.21[9]

Challenge: For their next challenge, both teams are to cook six of the most popular dishes in Hell's Kitchen (Beef Wellington, Salmon, Halibut, Rack of Lamb, Duck Breast, and Double Bone Pork Chop) in 25 minutes. However, Ramsay asks in different intervals for each team to kick out one team member each which in the end, leaves Nick and Michelle the only ones left on their respective teams until everyone is called back in during the last 3 minutes. In the end, the blue team won 5–3 because the red team served raw lamb and pork.
Rewards/punishment: The blue team went to a world class rock climbing gym and ate at the Bourbon Steak at Americana and are joined by Sous Chefs Christina and Jocky. The red team had to work with Marino in cleaning the dining room and kitchen along with polishing Marino's shoes and prepping for next service.
Cook For Your Life Challenge: Instead of a service, Ramsay announced that tonight is a Cook For Your Life Challenge and asks Michelle and Nick who they think are the three weakest chefs on their respective teams. Michelle nominated Barbie, Elise, and Manda while Nick nominated Giovanni, Milly, and Robyn. The six chefs were tasked with recreating Ramsay's Champagne and Oysters in 30 minutes.
Elimination: Milly was sent to safety first, followed by Manda, Barbie, and Elise, leaving Giovanni and Robyn behind. In the end, Robyn was sent up to safety last, leaving Giovanni to be eliminated, though Ramsay wished him and his family luck.
Ramsay's comment: "Giovanni may have age and experience, but his attention to detail in this critical challenge was a big disappointment. Arrivederci, Giovanni."

258
8
"Welcome to the Jungle"
December 1, 2017 (2017-12-01)
2.80[10]

Team challenge: For their next challenge, Ramsay announced that both teams would be cooking with three of the earliest meat hunted by man; boar, venison, and elk. Both teams had 3 minutes to hunt 5 ingredients for each of their protein and had 45 minutes to cook their dishes. Both teams had two pairs cooking with a similar meat, minus Nick who is the lone blue chef to cook with venison. Ramsay brought in chefs Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook (who previously helped judge a challenge in Season 14) to help him with the judging. Van scored a point on his boar dish while Elise scored a point on her venison making it a 1–1 tie. In a big surprise, Robyn's elk dish broke the tie in favor of the blue team and they won the challenge 2–1. Ramsay even welcomed Robyn back after a string of poor performances.
Reward/punishment: The blue team went on an exclusive mountain retreat at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, while indulging in caviar provided by Chef Alex Ageneau. The red team had to clean out the dorm rooms and had to clean the waiting staff's aprons. During punishment, Michelle tried to apologize to Elise for putting her up in the Cook For Your Life Challenge, but Elise rudely rejected her apology.
Service: A caviar bellini appetizer special was included on the main menu. Later that night, Ramsay received a last-minute VIP booking from Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik where he was seated in the red kitchen. The blue team had a perfect service with all five of them communicating well and none of their dishes were cooked incorrectly. Ramsay praised this, but had to lecture Robyn when she kept calling her teammates "baby". For the red team, it was the opposite story. Elise was slow on the caviar appetizer dish and needed Jennifer's help in the preparation. Things soon fell apart on the entree's when Manda didn't hear an order of pork for one table which slowed the momentum, and Barbie served raw duck. Things got worse when Barbie later sent up a raw chicken that Michelle thought was cooked. After Barbie sent up a raw duck and a raw pork, Ramsay called the blue team over and told them he needed them to finish their last ticket as the red team, who Ramsay declared had their worst service yet, was kicked out for the third time this season. The blue team later had the red team's tickets finished.
Elimination: After an awful service by the Red Team, Ramsay ordered the Red Team to come up with two nominees for Elimination. After a long discussion, The Red team nominated Manda and Barbie, although Elise suggested that Michelle should have been put up for Elimination. Despite Barbie's horrendous performance on the meat station, Ramsay sent her back in line and eliminated Manda for being the main reason for the red team's defeat, but praised her for her hard work and determination.
Ramsay's comment: "Manda said she never heard the ticket that sunk her team. Sadly, she's not going to hear her name being called as the winner of Hell's Kitchen either."

259
9
"Catch of the Day"
December 8, 2017 (2017-12-08)
2.96[11]

Challenge: The remaining chefs participated in a fishing challenge where the chefs had to waddle through a lake. They must hook lures containing different ingredients to their fish's mouth and then throw it to their teammates. Each ingredient they fish out will go a certain fish – Dover sole, red snapper, grouper, arctic char, or cod. Afterwards, they had 30 minutes to cook their fish with the ingredients they fished out from the lake. Michael Cimarusti served as a guest judge. Jennifer scored over Nick in the battle of the cod, while Robyn scored over Michelle with the grouper. Milly scored over Elise with the red snapper, mainly because Elise was only able to fish three ingredients for her snapper. Benjamin and Dana both scored a point with their arctic char. Finally, Van scored over Barbie in the Dover sole, giving the blue team a 4–2 victory.
Reward/punishment: The blue team headed out to Las Vegas in a private plane to stay overnight at Caesars Palace. They also went on the world's tallest Ferris Wheel with Christina. The red team had to bring in several hundreds of pounds of fish, then descale and fillet them. In addition, they were served a disgusting protein shake. Barbie tried to throw away her entire shake, only to get caught. As a result, Jocky forces the rest of the team to finish their serving of shake. This caused Dana, Elise, and Michelle to vomit.
Service: This service included an Asian fusion menu. Guests in attendance included Aleks Paunovic and E–40 in addition to the chef's tables, which hosted Cheryl Burke and Dan Bucatinsky in the red and blue kitchen respectively. Barbie and Robyn each spent excessive amounts of time fraternizing with the chef's table guests, earning the ire of Elise and Nick, respectively. Elise and Barbie fought for control over the pass, earning a warning from Chef Christina. Raw chicken sent to the pass prompted Ramsay to send the entire red team into the pantry. Later, Cheryl informed Barbie that the duck was slightly raw and Barbie offered to prepare another, but the guests declined. Despite Elise's objections, Barbie insisted on a fresh serving of duck. When Barbie asked Elise to prepare a duck garnish, Elise refused, an argument ensued, and Ramsay pulled both back into the pantry and demanded they sort out their differences before reentering. This prompted Elise to call Barbie "cuckoo" before exiting the pantry. In the blue kitchen, Milly brought up raw New York strip but recovered. Van failed to respond when Ramsay asked for time on the salmon, and proceeded to bring up an overcooked portion. He was also able to bounce back, but not before Ramsay threatened to throw him out. Even though both teams completed service with no ejections, Ramsay declared both teams losers and asked for two nominees per team for elimination.
Elimination: The blue team considered nominating Van for his struggles on fish and Milly for raw steak, but are interrupted by the red team arguing from across the hall. Ramsay first asks the blue team for nominations and Nick replies with Robyn and Milly. Ramsay calls down Van as well and gives all three 30 seconds to plead their cases. After this, he sends Robyn and Milly back in line, and shocks some members of the red team when he eliminates Van for his lack of communication on the fish station, but encourages him to keep his head up. Next, he calls for the red team's nominations and Dana replies with Elise and Barbie. Barbie states that she will not repeat the mistakes from tonight's service and that her team has rejected her attempts to get along with them, while Elise points to her stronger performances on challenges than Barbie (ironically she put herself at a major disadvantage for this week's challenge). But Ramsay simply sends both back in line and warns the remaining chefs to correct their mistakes, or else.
Ramsay's comment: "Van's always had one of the loudest voices here. Tonight, not only did he lose his voice but also his dream of becoming my next head chef."

260
10
"It's All Gravy"
December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15)
3.04[12]

Challenge: Ramsay announced that the annual Blind Taste Test was the next challenge, and for this season, they would be tasting herbs and spices mixed into a mashed potato puree. While one chef tastes the ingredients, a member of their team would be in a chair and would get splattered with mashed potatoes and gravy if the taster got multiple incorrect answers. Robyn scored 3 while Dana failed to score any points (resulting in Michelle getting messy), Nick scored 2 while Jennifer also failed to score any points (resulting in Dana getting messy), and Benjamin scores 3 while Barbie scores 2. With the final pair of Elise and Milly up, Ramsay warned the red team that if Elise did not catch up to the blue team, the challenge was over. Elise failed to score her three taste tests, and the blue team won the challenge 8–2.
Reward/punishment: The blue team went to Roy Yamaguchi's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant for lunch and received Vitamix Blenders while at the restaurant. The red team had to clean up the dining room and separate peppercorn while grinding them by hand. During punishment, sous-chef Christina noticed some animosity in the red team and asked them if they could promise a good dinner service, but Dana refused to do so as she did not have faith in Barbie.
Service: For one night only, Hell's Kitchen hosted a private dinner service for two charities with the blue team cooking for Shane's Inspiration, and the red team cooking for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Both charities featured notable guests in attendance which include Mindy Sterling and Tyler Posey in the red table, and David Koechner, Jill Wagner and Shane's Inspiration founder Scott Williams in the blue table. Each team would have one chef lead a section, though Nick from the blue team had to lead both the scallop dishes and the passion fruit souffle dishes as the blue team was a member down. Michelle and Nick were able to get their dishes out with few problems, with Michelle noticing that she was missing three scallops and Milly was overcooking scallops for Nick's dishes. Jennifer had no problems with her Lobster Spaghetti dishes but Robyn was caught serving more pasta than needed. On the Striped Bass dish, Milly led the blue team strongly and got his dishes out with no problems, but in the red kitchen, most of the bass were burnt and Elise accused her team of sabotaging her, despite her not checking them before serving them. For the Beef filet Rossini, it was the same story as Benjamin led his team well while in the red kitchen, Barbie's aggressive leadership had her screaming at Michelle on garnish and their potatoes were burnt. Dana and Nick had no issues with their desserts, but Ramsay called the red team's performance the "worst charity dinner ever in the entire competition" before tasking them to come up with two nominees.
Elimination: Barbie and Elise were nominated. To the relief of Dana, Ramsay eliminated Barbie for her aggressive leadership at service along with not bouncing back quicker, but praised her for her heart. He then remarked that the blue team's remaining four members would likely make up for the final four.
Ramsay's comment: "Barbie's performance at charity night was a disaster. So, I performed a charity act for her team by sending her home."

261
11
"Trying to Pasta Test"
January 5, 2018 (2018-01-05)
3.42[13]

Challenge: Before heading off to bed, Ramsay announced a pasta challenge tomorrow where the chefs had to create three portions a gourmet pasta dish with a $20 budget at a local grocery store. Joining Ramsay in the judging is Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Chef and Co-Owner of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, CO and Bruce Kalman, Chef and Owner of Union in Pasadena, CA. The red team won the challenge $320 to $313 and it was the first time they won a challenge since Episode 6.
Reward/punishment: The red team went go-karting and had an incredible lunch. In addition, Michelle's Asian inspired Tortellini Soup (which was the best dish of the day) was added in tonight's menu. The blue team were tasked in cleaning the kitchen shelves.
Service: Tyler Hilton, Sebastian Roche, and Keesha Sharp were in attendance for this service. Both teams got off to strong starts on appetizers, but had struggles on entrees with their respective meat stations. In the red kitchen, Dana scorched her initial wellingtons and sent up raw lamb to the pass. In the blue kitchen, Robyn was slow on one of her wellingtons, mis-remembered a ticket order, and had trouble communicating with Benjamin on the garnish station. Despite that, both teams pushed entrees out, and with three tickets left each, Ramsay told both teams that the first team to finish up was the winner. Despite making it to their last ticket, Dana served overcooked and undercooked wellingtons, and Ramsay threw the red team out for the fourth time this season as the blue team finished their own tickets.
Elimination: Despite being told to nominate two people, the red team had a three way tie between Dana, Michelle and Elise due to the alliance between Jennifer and Elise. So Ramsay called all three of them down. Ramsay sent Michelle and Elise back in line, eliminating Dana for her lack of leadership and poor performance on meat.
Ramsay's comment: "In two seasons, this was Dana's first time ever being nominated. Unfortunately for her, it was also her last."

262
12
"Five is the New Black"
January 12, 2018 (2018-01-12)
3.56[14]

Ramsay announced that today was a black jackets challenge where only five of the seven chefs would get black jackets, while two of them would be sent home.
Challenge 1: For their first challenge, it was the classic Taste It Now Make It Challenge as Ramsay gave the chefs 45 minutes to taste his dish and recreate it. In the end, Milly with his puree and Nick with his hash were the closest of the chefs and won the first black jackets. They spent the rest of the day at the Black Jackets VIP Lounge.
Challenge 2: For their second challenge, Ramsay had 5 domes with limited ingredients, and when he rings the bell, the chefs had to race and grab whatever ingredient they wanted. They then had to cook a dish in 30 minutes using those ingredients. Michelle's veal chops and Benjamin's filet mignon were the best two dishes, and they received their black jackets. They then joined Milly and Nick in the Lounge area. Before their final challenge, Jennifer urged Robyn to beat Elise.
Challenge 3: For their final challenge, Ramsay gave the three chefs 30 minutes to cook whatever they wanted and had full range of ingredients in the kitchen. The black jacket chefs watched the challenge on a live video feed, but it cut out after the challenge ended. Robyn made a seared lamb loin with potato and corn hash, Elise made a filet mignon with potato puree and rainbow chard, and Jennifer made scallops and shrimp with corn succotash.
Elimination: After tasting the dishes, Ramsay eliminated Elise for having the weakest dish of the three, but told her to keep her jacket and urged her to keep her head up high. To decide between Jennifer and Robyn, who were crying and hugging each other, Ramsay had Jockey and Christina taste the dishes. In the end, Robyn received the final black jacket and Jennifer was sent home due to her scallops being slightly undercooked. Before leaving, Ramsay allowed Jennifer to keep her jacket as well and praised her for improving since the last time she competed. Before leaving Jennifer wished Robyn good luck and was happy that she beat Elise as she had been betrayed by Elise on their season. After Robyn got to the Black Jacket Lounge, Ramsay and the sous chefs brought champagne to the lounge and congratulated the remaining chefs for being in the final five.
Ramsay gave no comment on either Elise or Jennifer's elimination, and neither received a burning picture sequence.

263
13
"Stars Heating Up Hell"
January 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
3.17[15]

Individual challenge: For their first black jackets challenge, the chefs had to teach sports all stars (Milly cooking with NFL's Ricky Williams, Michelle cooking with the winner of the WNBA championship Candace Parker, Benjamin cooking with NFL "Light's Out" Shawne Merriman, Nick cooking with Olympic gold medalist gymnast Jordyn Wieber, and Robyn cooking with 5-time NBA All-Star Reggie Miller) how to cook their signature dishes that they originally planned on making at the start of the season in 45 minutes. Once finished, Ramsay will then judge the dishes and have one person on the winners seat, but they could be dethroned if Ramsay found the next dish better. Michelle won the challenge.
Reward/punishment: Michelle went on a tour to see all the breath-taking views of Los Angeles from her very own helicopter; after that, she ate at 71 Above and took Nick with her. The remaining chefs had to participate in deep cleaning day. During punishment, Robyn got annoyed when Milly was seen not helping much and eating the leftover food from the challenge.
Service: Rapper and Musician Wyclef Jean was seated at the chefs table. Former 2 Broke Girls actors Jonathan Kite and Matthew Moy were in attendance in addition to Janina Gavankar. Milly was disorganized on the appetizers and had a pan caught on fire but recovered. Benjamin was not communicating with the chefs and annoyed everyone with his constant "Oui Chef" comment. Robyn sent up bland couscous and got lectured by Ramsay when she sent up burnt Brussels sprouts and that she said that she did not want to send them up, and Nick sent up a rare New York Strip, but recovered. Despite those problems, the team sent their tickets out with no problems and Ramsay was relatively pleased by it. After service, Ramsay named Michelle the "Best of the Best" as she was the only one not to have any major problems and told her to nominate two people.
Elimination: Michelle nominated Robyn and Milly for elimination. Ramsay eliminated Robyn for being the weakest of the black jackets but praised her for improving a lot after her poor start and allowed her to keep her jacket.
Ramsay's comment: "I've always admired Robyn's no-nonsense attitude, but tonight she had the wrong attitude and served up a lot of nonsense."

264
14
"Families Come to Hell"
January 26, 2018 (2018-01-26)
3.43[16]

Before the next challenge, Ramsay revealed that he invited the final four's loved ones (Michelle's sister and nephews, Nick's husband and mom, Benjamin's wife and daughters, and Milly's girlfriend and infant son) for some time together.
Individual challenge: Ramsay had the chefs choose a Christmas present under a tree that contained ingredients for them. They then had forty-five minutes to use those ingredients to make a festive inspired dish. Afterwards, Ramsay invited their loved ones for a blind judging, with them voting for their top two dishes. Benjamin and Michelle were tied, but Ramsay broke the tie in favor of Benjamin who won the challenge.
Reward/punishment: Benjamin rode with Ramsay in a Ferrari to lunch with his family while the rest of the chefs had to clean the SUV's and clean up the dining room. During punishment, Nick, Michelle, and Milly made a pact to make sure Season 14 all made it to the final three.
Service: For this dinner service, each of the final four had a turn on the pass with Ramsay not only testing their leadership skills, but their quality control as Sous Chef Christina and Jocky would be intentionally making mistakes. Benjamin was up first and managed to catch Christina serving a carbonara with spaghetti instead of fettuccine, but did not notice carrots instead of butternut squash in the risotto. Milly missed an intentional ticket mistake from Marino, but became vocal and caught multiple mistakes from Michelle. Michelle did see that Christina did not serve spinach, but failed to identify a ribeye instead of the ordered New york strip. Nick failed to identify a veal chop instead of an ordered pork chop as well, but caught mistakes from Christina, Michelle, and Milly, the latter of which was struggling with a poached egg. After service, Ramsay told them to think of one person they wanted to be with in the finals.
Elimination: At elimination, most of the chefs said that they wanted to have Nick in the finale. Afterwards, Ramsay eliminated Milly, but said he was happy to give him a second chance, praised his confidence and told him to keep his jacket. In an unprecedented step, Ramsay offered Milly an opportunity to come to London for a week and stage at his flagship three Michelin Star Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. Milly enthusiastically accepted and left. Afterwards, Ramsay picked Nick as the first finalist and praised him for growing more than any chef in this competition. Benjamin was the second finalist for his calm, collected leadership that night. However, in another unprecedented move, Ramsay selected Michelle as the third finalist of the season, marking the first time in Hell's Kitchen history where Chef Ramsay names three finalists.
Ramsay's comment: “Milly has had two fantastic runs in Hell’s Kitchen. I’m personally going to make sure that big, kindhearted man with so much culinary passion gets the right training he deserves.”

265
15
"Final Three"
February 2, 2018 (2018-02-02)
3.36[17]

Individual challenge: The finalists were each assigned a sous chef, who would help them prepare a menu in one hour consisting of a hot and cold appetizer, as well as a chicken, beef, and seafood entree. During this process, Nick overcooked the beurre blanc sauce for one of his dishes, but managed to recover with the help of Sous Chef Christina. After sampling all the dishes, Ramsay was unable to decide on a winner.
Reward: Michelle, Benjamin, and Nick were all transported to an awards ceremony for the Culinary Association of America, where Ramsay took the stage and announced that they would be cooking their menus again for the executive staff at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Individual challenge part 2: One staff member sampled the dishes from each category, and rated each finalist on a scale from 1 to 10. With only the beef entrees left, all three were tied at 34 points each, so CEO Mark Frissora would effectively decide which two would advance. After sampling the dishes, Frissora named Michelle as the first finalist, and Benjamin as the second, eliminating Nick, who was instructed to get in line with the returning contestants of the season. Michelle was granted first pick out of her fellow competitors, to draft a brigade for the final dinner service. She chose Nick, Dana, and Milly. Benjamin chose Jennifer, Van, and Robyn. The episode ended on a cliffhanger before Michelle decided between Elise and Barbie to round out her team.

266
16
"All-Star Finale"
February 2, 2018 (2018-02-02)
3.36[17]

Continued from the previous episode, Michelle picked Elise, so Benjamin was left with Barbie.
Service: Before dinner service, while both teams prepped their menus, Elise continued to give Michelle attitude until Nick told her to shut up or go home. Lamorne Morris and the finalists' families were in attendance for the last dinner service of the season. In the red kitchen, Dana struggled to assemble a cold appetizer, prompting Ramsay to give Michelle a pep talk in the storeroom. Marino returned two risottos to Michelle's kitchen after a minor complaint about the broth. Elise recovered and successfully re-fired the risottos that were then sent back to Lamorne Morris' table, much to the actor's delight. Ramsay then scolded Nick for attempting to call nine entrees in a single sitting. Meanwhile in the blue kitchen, Barbie did well on hot apps for Benjamin, despite not having done it often during the season. But entrees were a different story. First, Jennifer sent up raw fish twice. Robyn sent up raw filets and burned the subsequent refire. Her third attempt on the same ticket was raw again, prompting Ramsay to accuse her of sabotaging Benjamin. When she finally brought up an acceptable portion of beef, it came with a raw lamb. She then refired the lamb in the same pan that had been used to cook the beef, which was a sanitation violation. An irate Ramsay dragged Robyn and Benjamin into the dining room, threw the former out of the kitchen, and berated the latter for not stepping up as a leader. Nevertheless, Robyn continued to fight with Benjamin to be allowed back in, and he finally relented on the last ticket.
Winner: As per Hell's Kitchen tradition, Michelle and Benjamin stood in front of two doors. Michelle's door opened, making her the 17th winner and first All-Star winner of Hell's Kitchen; Benjamin took his defeat graciously. Michelle gave a victory speech and hung her picture in the Hall of Fame.
Ramsay's comment: "Having the youngest of all-stars step up and win this competition is a testament to Michelle's talent. At a very young age, she has already proven she is driven, creative, and commanding. She will be a great asset to Hell's Kitchen in Las Vegas."

text: U.S. Nielsen ratings[edit]

text:
No.
Episode
Air date
Timeslot (ET)
Rating/Share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
Nightly
rank

1
"All-Stars Arrive"
September 29, 2017
Friday 8:00 p.m.
0.9
4
3.02[3]
3

2
"Raising the Bar"
October 6, 2017
0.9
4
2.80[4]
3

3
"Tower of Terror"
October 13, 2017
0.8
4
2.87[5]
3

4
"Just Letter Cook"
October 20, 2017
0.8
4
2.86[6]
3

5
"Josh Josh Josh"
November 3, 2017
0.8
4
3.10[7]
3

6
"A Little Slice of Hell"
November 10, 2017
0.8
4
3.11[8]
4

7
"Trimming Fat"
November 17, 2017
0.9
4
3.21[9]
2

8
"Welcome to the Jungle"
December 1, 2017
0.7
3
2.80[10]
3

9
"Catch of the Day"
December 8, 2017
0.8
3
2.96[11]
3

10
"It's All Gravy"
December 15, 2017
0.8
4
3.04[12]
2

11
"Trying to Pasta Test"
January 5, 2018
0.9
4
3.42[13]
3

12
"Five is the New Black"
January 12, 2018
1.1
5
3.56[14]
1

13
"Stars Heating Up Hell"
January 19, 2018
0.9
4
3.17[15]
2

14
"Families Come to Hell"
January 26, 2018
0.9
4
3.43[16]
1

15
"Final Three"
February 2, 2018
0.9
4
3.36[17]
2

16
"All-Star Finale"


document_title: Water in California

question_text: what are the main uses of water in california

question_tokens: what are the main uses of water in california

root

text: Water in California

text: Sources of water[edit]

text: California's limited water supply comes from two main sources: surface water, or water that travels or gathers on the ground, like rivers, streams, and lakes; and groundwater, which is water that is pumped out from the ground. California has also begun producing a small amount of desalinated water, water that was once sea water, but has been purified.

tag: p

text: Groundwater[edit]

text: This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2017)

tag: table

text: Groundwater is a critical element of the California water supply. During a normal year, 30% of the state's water supply comes from groundwater (underground water). In times of intense drought, groundwater consumption can rise to 60% or more.[3] Over 850,000,000 acre feet (1,050 km3) of water is stored in California's 450 known groundwater reservoirs.[3] However, not all the water is usable. Over half of the groundwater is unavailable due to poor quality and the high cost of pumping the water from the ground. While surface water is concentrated mostly in the northern part of the state, groundwater is more evenly distributed.[3]

text: The largest groundwater reservoirs are found in the Central Valley.[3] The majority of the supply there is in the form of runoff that seeps into the aquifer. The freshwater is usually found in deposits of gravel, silt, and sand. Below these deposits lies a layer of deep sediment, a relic of the era when the Pacific Ocean covered the area.

text: Though California has laws governing surface water usage and quality, there exist no statewide groundwater management laws. Each groundwater basin is individually adjudicated to determine water rights.[4] Otherwise, for all practical purposes, land ownership implicitly carries the right to virtually unlimited groundwater pumping.

text: The large quantity of water beneath the surface has given rise to the misconception that groundwater is a sort of renewable resource that can be limitlessly tapped. Calculations assuming that groundwater usage is sustainable if the rate of removal equals the rate of recharge are often incorrect as a result of ignoring changes in water consumption and water renewal.[5]

text: While the volume of groundwater in California is very large, aquifers can be over drafted when groundwater is removed more rapidly than it is replenished. In 1999, it was estimated that the average, annual overdrafting was around 2,200,000 acre feet (2.7 km3) across the state, with 800,000 acre feet (0.99 km3) in the Central Valley.[6][page needed] Since then, overdrafting had significantly increased. Satellite measurements found that in just the combined Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins, including the Central Valley, overdrafting between 2011 and 2014 was 12,000,000 acre feet (15 km3) of water per year.[7]

text: Surface water[edit]

text: California has ten major drainage basins defined for convenience of water management. These basins are divided from one another by the crests of mountains. From north to south the basins are: North Coast, Sacramento River, North Lahontan, San Francisco Bay, San Joaquin River, Central Coast, Tulare Lake, South Lahontan, South Coast, and Colorado River regions. Each region incorporates watersheds from many rivers of similar clime.

text: The Central Valley watershed, which incorporates the Sacramento River, San Joaquin River and Tulare Lake regions, is the largest in California, draining over a third of the state – 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) – and producing nearly half the total runoff.[8][9] The Sierra Nevada snowpack feeds Central Valley river systems and is a critical source of water in the state's long dry season when little if any precipitation falls. Up to 30 percent of California's water supply is from snowpack.[10] Much of California's extensive reservoir and aqueduct system is designed to store and capture runoff from the Central Valley watershed. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers converge at the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, a large fresh-water estuary from where much of the state's water supply is withdrawn. The Central Valley watershed provides most of the water for Northern and Central California, as well as a significant chunk of Southern California's usage.[9]

text: The North Coast watershed receives the highest annual precipitation of any California watershed. It incorporates many large river systems such as the Klamath, Smith and Eel, and produces over a third of the runoff in the state. With a few exceptions, the North Coast watersheds are relatively undeveloped and provides water only to local communities. The vast majority of water flows uncontrolled into the Pacific Ocean. There have been many proposals to divert water from North Coast rivers to increase water supplies in the rest of California, but these projects were never realized, both due to cost and potential environmental harm.[11]

text: The Colorado River originates more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from California in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming and forms the state's southeastern border in the Mojave Desert. Unlike the other California watersheds, essentially all of the water flowing in the Colorado originates outside the state. The Colorado is a critical source of irrigation and urban water for southern California, providing between 55 and 65 percent of the total supply.[12]

text: The Central and South Coast watersheds include the most populous regions of California – the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego – but have relatively little natural runoff, requiring the importation of water from other parts of the state.

text: Rivers of the Lahontan watersheds in eastern California are part of the high desert Great Basin and do not drain to the Pacific. Most of the water is used locally in eastern California and western Nevada for irrigation. The Owens River of the South Lahontan region, however, is a principal source of water for Los Angeles.

text:
Main California watersheds[13]

Hydrologic region
Annual precipitation
Annual runoff

North Coast
55,900,000 acre feet (69.0 km3)
28,900,000 acre feet (35.6 km3)

Sacramento River
52,400,000 acre feet (64.6 km3)
22,400,000 acre feet (27.6 km3)

North Lahontan
6,000,000 acre feet (7.4 km3)
1,900,000 acre feet (2.3 km3)

San Francisco Bay
5,500,000 acre feet (6.8 km3)
1,200,000 acre feet (1.5 km3)

San Joaquin River
21,800,000 acre feet (26.9 km3)
7,900,000 acre feet (9.7 km3)

Central Coast
12,300,000 acre feet (15.2 km3)
2,500,000 acre feet (3.1 km3)

Tulare Lake
13,900,000 acre feet (17.1 km3)
3,300,000 acre feet (4.1 km3)

South Lahontan
9,300,000 acre feet (11.5 km3)
1,300,000 acre feet (1.6 km3)

South Coast
10,800,000 acre feet (13.3 km3)
1,200,000 acre feet (1.5 km3)

Colorado River
4,300,000 acre feet (5.3 km3)
200,000 acre feet (0.25 km3)

text: Rain and snowfall[edit]

text: Rain typically falls in California only during the winter and spring months, from October through May, with more rain falling on the northern half of the state than the southern. Approximately 75 percent of the total precipitation volume occurs north of Sacramento, while 75 percent of the total water demand is in the south. With very rare exceptions, summers are dry throughout the state. Precipitation falling as snow in the Sierra and other mountain ranges feeds the network of reservoirs and surface water sources that supply the state; a low rainfall or light snowfall year can result in drought.

text: Rivers in northern and coastal California are mainly rain fed, peaking from January to April and falling to very low levels between June and November. Snowmelt has a significant influence on the Sierra Nevada rivers from east of Sacramento to east of Bakersfield, which typically peak between April and July. Snowmelt is also the primary water source for the Colorado River which supplies southern California.

text: California precipitation and snowpack is measured by the state of California by "water year", which runs from October 1 to September 30.[14]

text: Desalination[edit]

text: In response to water shortages in the state, some water districts are looking to desalination as a way to provide water for residents. Supporters view seawater desalination as a safer water source, since it draws its water from the ocean and thus, is not affected by periods of drought like other sources of water are. Another incentive for desalination is the ability for localities to be more self-sufficient with their water supply, thus improving their drought resilience. However, desalination has been the subject of scrutiny by opponents, who believe that the costs and possible environmental effects of desalination are indicators that California should continue to pursue other alternatives.[15]

text: Although the response to desalination has been mixed, some areas of California are moving forward with seawater desalination. In December 2015, Poseidon Water completed the construction of the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant.[16] This facility, which was approved by the San Diego Water Authority, is responsible for providing water for about 8% of San Diego County's water by the year 2020.[17] As of December 2015, there are 6 additional seawater desalination plants currently in operation in the state of California. As of May 2016, there are also 9 more proposed desalination plants.[18]

text: Reuse[edit]

text: Water always gets recycled, via rivers, aquifers, and the atmosphere, but we can also do this directly and intentionally. Water reuse in California is increasingly important, with reclaimed water being used preferably for agricultural irrigation, toilet flushing, and industry (e.g., making concrete, cooling), although some apply direct and indirect potable reuse, risking environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants and other constituents of emerging concern. Treatment should be in accordance with the use and, in many cases, water can be safely and productively recycled back to the same non-potable use.[19]

text: Uses of water[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Water use in California is divided into approximately 51% for environmental uses, 39% agricultural use and 11% urban uses, though that varies considerably between regions and between wet and dry years.[20] Solely relying on these statewide volumes is controversial because they don't consider the fact that most of the volume of water used for environmental purposes includes flows down Wild and Scenic Rivers in the North Coast where there is no practical way to recover it for either agricultural or urban use because it lacks many connections to the statewide water supply system.[21] It also doesn't factor in the amount of water required to keep salty water from the Pacific Ocean from intruding into the Delta beyond a certain small concentration.[21] Otherwise, "reduced water quality resulting from large amounts of salt water drawn into the Delta could shut down the export pumps that supply fresh water to agriculture and cities."[22][23]

text: Around 75% of California's water supply comes from north of Sacramento, while 80% of the water demand occurs in the southern two-thirds of the state.[24] The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta Estuary located between San Francisco Bay and Sacramento receives about 40% of California's total precipitation and 50% of its total streamflow. It is a critical hub used by the federal Central Valley Project and California State Water Project to connect water collected and stored in the north regions of the state with aqueducts and canals that transport it to users in the North Bay, South Bay, East Bay, and Greater Southern California. In a typical year, about 10.8 million acre-feet are exported from the Delta: 67% is delivered by the Central Valley Project, 26% by the State Water Project and the remainder to other federal water project users.[25] Those flows are greatly reduced in drought years. About 16.5 million acre-feet of water entering the Delta in a typical year flows through the Delta into San Francisco Bay, including 6.3 million acre-feet in governmentally mandated environmental flows; 22.4 million acre-feet is used for other environmental purposes, and 1.6 million acre-feet supplies water to managed wetlands and wildlife preserves.[26]

text: Agricultural[edit]

text: In an average year, about 39% of California's water consumption, or 34.1 million acre-feet, is used for agricultural purposes. Of that total, 11%, or 8.9 million acre-feet is not consumed by the farms for crop production but is instead recycled and reused by other water users, including environmental use, urban use, and agricultural use, yielding net water consumption for food and fiber production equal to 28% of California's water consumption, or 25.2 million acre-feet.[26] This water irrigates almost 29 million acres (120,000 km2), which grows 350 different crops. Agricultural water usage varies depending on the amount of rainfall each year.

text: Alfalfa uses about 18% of California irrigation water and produces 4% of California's farm-gate revenue, most of which is used as livestock feed.[27] In 2015, California exported one-fourth of its total alfalfa production of roughly 2 million tons. About one-third of that, around 700,000 tons, went to China, Japan took about the same amount and Saudi Arabia bought 5,000 tons. Alfalfa farmers pay about $70 an acre-foot, in Los Angeles that same amount of water is worth $1000 per acre-foot.[28] In 2012, California exported 575,000 tons of alfalfa to China, for $586 million.[27] Other common crop water use, if using all irrigated water: fruits and nuts with 34% of water use and 45% of revenue, field crops with 14% of water and 4% of revenue, pasture forage with 11% of water use and 1% of revenue, rice with 8% of water use and 2% of revenue (despite its lack of water, California grows nearly 5 billion pounds of rice per year, and is the second largest rice-growing state[29][30]), and truck farming of vegetables and nursery crops with 4% of water use and 42% of revenue; head of broccoli: 5.4 gallons; one walnut: 4.9 gallons; head of lettuce: 3.5 gallons; one tomato: 3.3 gallons; one almond 1.1 gallon; one pistachio: 0.75 gallon; one strawberry 0.4 gallon; one grape: 0.3 gallon.[31][32]

text: Horses, based on the amount of alfalfa they eat, use about 1.9 million acre feet of water – about 7% of irrigated water in the state. There are 698,000 horses in California.[33]

text: Cheap agricultural water paired with a mild climate has allowed farmers to produce widely in California. Jane Dye Gussow discusses California's agricultural water in her book This Organic Life. She argues the farms that use precious water in California produces food in an area that "was never intended to be a garden."[34] The Central Valley, where the majority of this agricultural water is used, is the most threatened agricultural land in the nation.[citation needed]

text: Urban/residential[edit]

text: Urban and industrial use of water consumes about 11%, or 8.9 million acre-feet, of total water consumption in an average year.[26] A 2011 study of a sampling of 735 California homes across ten water districts found that the weighted average annual total water use of these homes was 132,000 US gallons (0.41 acre⋅ft) per year or 362 US gallons (0.00111 acre⋅ft) per household per day.[35] The study found that about 53% of total average household water use, or more than 192 US gallons (0.00059 acre⋅ft) per household per day, was used for landscaping and other outdoor uses. Meanwhile, indoor use accounted for more than 170 US gallons (0.00052 acre⋅ft) per household per day. The most in-home water consumption is toilet flushes, using 20% of the water. After toilets, 20% is used for showers and 18% goes to leaks inside homes.[36]

text: In Sacramento, in 2012 before the severe drought started, residents were using 217 US gallons (0.00067 acre⋅ft) a day per-capita.[37] Many homes in Sacramento didn't have water meters until recently. They now are gradually being installed after former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a 2004 law mandating meters statewide by 2025.[38]

text: After Folsom, a city of 72,000 east of Sacramento, installed meters in 2011 and adopted tiered rates that charge more for people who consume the most water, per-capita use started falling steadily.[38]

text: In response to the severe California drought, in April 2015, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order mandating statewide reductions in water use. The mandate aimed to reduce the amount of water consumed statewide in urban areas by 25% from 2013 levels. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) proposed regulatory instructions that grouped urban water utilities into nine tiers, with conservation standards ranging from 8% to 36%.[39]

text: Water distribution[edit]

text: There are six main systems of aqueducts and infrastructure that redistribute and transport water in California: the State Water Project, the Central Valley Project, several Colorado River delivery systems, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Tuolumne River/Hetch Hetchy system, and the Mokelumne Aqueduct.

text: The State Water Project[edit]

text: The California State Water Project is the largest multipurpose, state-built water project in the United States.[40] The SWP transports water from the Feather River watershed to agriculture, and some of the water goes to industrial and urban users. More than two-thirds of Californians receive some water from the SWP. The system was designed and contracted to deliver 4,200,000 acre feet (5.2 km3), but in an average year delivers only 2,300,000 acre feet (2.8 km3) because many of the original planned features were never built.[13] Twenty-nine agencies hold contracts for SWP water. The contractors pay for SWP's major operating costs and have gradually reduced the $1.75 billion bond debt that supplied funds for initial construction. In the years since 1960, SWP has built 29 dams, 18 pumping plants, five hydroelectric power plants, and around 600 miles (970 km) of canals and pipelines.[41]

text: The SWP system begins with reservoirs on upper tributaries of the Feather River. Oroville Dam creates the largest SWP reservoir. At 770 feet (230 m) above the riverbed, the dam is the tallest in the United States. The reservoir covers 15,000 acres (61 km2) and holds 3,500,000 acre feet (4.3 km3).[42] Water travels from Lake Oroville to the Sacramento River. At Harvey O. Banks Delta Pumping Plant, which pulls SWP water into the Bethany Reservoir, around 2,200,000 acre feet (2.7 km3) are extracted from the Delta each year.[43] Water that flows to the south end of the San Joaquin Valley must be pumped over the Tehachapi Mountains. Because of this, the SWP is California's largest energy consumer, and even though the hydroelectric plants of the SWP generate 5,900 GWh per year, that is only a fraction of the energy needed to lift water over the Tehachapis.[44] Below the Tehachapis the California Aqueduct splits, with the west branch storing water in Castaic and Pyramid Lake, and the east branch storing water in the Silverwood Lake reservoir.

text: The Central Valley Project[edit]

text: The CVP's original purpose was to tame seasonal flooding and to direct water to the south to irrigate 3 million acres (12,000 km2) of farmland. The CVP is operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. As one of the largest water systems in the world it stores over 7,000,000 acre feet (8.6 km3) of water, or 17 percent of the state's developed water.[45] The CVP dams and diverts five major rivers: the Trinity, the Sacramento, the American, the Stanislaus, and the San Joaquin. Friant Dam, on the San Joaquin, was completed in 1944, forming Millerton Lake. This was one of 20 reservoirs in the CVP. Shasta Dam, the largest CVP storage facility, was completed in 1945. At Sacramento, American River water stored by Folsom Dam is added. 2,500,000 acre feet (3.1 km3) are annually pumped from the Delta into the Delta-Mendota Canal. New Melones Dam on the Stanislaus River was finished in 1979, and the reservoir was filled in 1982.

text: The CVP has generated some controversy about environmental damage, prices charged to farmers, and lax enforcement of farm size limitations. Bureau of Reclamation water was supposed to be used for farms limited to 160 acres (see Homestead Act). Under Spanish and Mexican land grants, however, there were only a few land owners, all of whom owned large tracts of land. A 1982 reform increased CVP area limits to 960 acres (3.9 km2).[46] In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act made fish and wildlife protection and restoration an authorized purpose of the CVP on an equal footing with other authorized purposes. 800,000 acre feet (0.99 km3) of annual runoff were dedicated to environmental usage, which generated intense controversy.[47]

text: Colorado River Systems[edit]

text: The Colorado River is the source of 4,400,000 acre feet (5.4 km3) per year for California.[48] Six other states along the river's watershed (Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona) and Mexico, share allocated portions of river water. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, or MWD, holds priority water rights on the Colorado. It sells water to 95 percent of the South Coast region. Lake Mead, formed by Hoover Dam, is the primary reservoir in the Colorado River basin. The Colorado River Aqueduct begins 155 miles (249 km) downstream from Hoover Dam, and can carry 1,200,000 acre feet (1.5 km3) annually.

text: An additional system diverts water from the Colorado River at the Imperial Diversion Dam provides waters to the Imperial and Coachella valleys as well as Yuma, Arizona, via the Alamo Canal, the Coachella Canal and the All-American Canal, which runs alongside the Mexican border. This system was also responsible for the accidental re-creation of the Salton Sea in 1905.

text: The Colorado is considered over-allocated, because apportionments were made on inaccurate measurements of annual runoff. Marc Reisner in Cadillac Desert noted that the Colorado is "unable to satisfy all the demands on it, so it is referred to as a 'deficit' river, as if the river were somehow at fault for its overuse".[49] For years California took more than its share of the apportionment, because other states were not prepared to use their entire allotments. MWD became used to 800,000 acre feet (0.99 km3) excess of water. Pressure from other Colorado river states caused the Secretary of the Interior to order California to show progress towards decreasing its dependency on the excess 800,000 acre feet (0.99 km3), or face cuts.[50] The Colorado River Water Use Plan called for Imperial and Coachella Valley agriculture to give up water in order to reallocate 800,000 acre feet (0.99 km3) within the state. The plan's proposals generated much controversy, and the deadline arrived with no agreement reached. The Department of the Interior reduced MWD's access by 415,000 acre feet (0.512 km3).

text: The Los Angeles Aqueduct[edit]

text: The Los Angeles Aqueduct carries water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada to Los Angeles. The construction of the aqueduct marked the first major water delivery project in California. The city purchased 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land in the Owens Valley in order to gain access to water rights. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power transports 400,000 acre feet (0.49 km3) of Eastern Sierra Nevada water to the city each year. This growth clearly shows William Mulholland's observation that "Whoever brings the water, brings the people."[51]

text: After four decades of diversion from the Mono Lake area, environmental damage created an environmental battle in the 1980s, with a victory for the Mono Lake proponents in 1994.[52] Other problems arose when dust from the bed of Owens Lake (completely dried up by diversions) became a major source of air pollution in the southern Owens Valley. To restore Mono Lake, correct air-quality law violations, and rewater portions of the Owens River, Los Angeles has begun to reduce its dependence on Eastern Sierra Nevada water. This has mostly been achieved through water conservation. The city enacted a program offering free low-flow toilets to its customers.[53]

text: Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct[edit]

text: The Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct carries water from the Tuolumne River to San Francisco and other Bay Area regions. The system starts in Hetch Hetchy Valley, inside Yosemite National Park. The system also generates up to 400MW of electrical power, depending on rainfall, most of which is sent to San Francisco via city-owned power lines.[54] After water leaves Hetch Hetchy, it passes through tunnels towards powerhouses. Three pipes then bring the water across the Central Valley. Concerns about the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct's ability to withstand earthquakes led to a $1.7 billion bond, approved by voters in November 2002.[55]

text: Mokelumne Aqueduct[edit]

text: The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) serves 35 communities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, including Berkeley and Oakland. The Mokelumne River in the central Sierra Nevada is the source for almost all of EBMUD's water. EBMUD built the Pardee Dam across the Mokelumne in the foothills northeast of Stockton. South of Pardee is Camanche Reservoir, which regulates releases to serve downstream water rights holders. EBMUD holds almost 30,000 acres (120 km2) in the Mokulumne River watershed and 25,000 acres (100 km2) in other watersheds. EBMUD also has an American River water right that could be sent to the Mokelumne Aqueduct through the Folsom South Canal. The only time this has been done was during the drought years of 1977–78, when the water was actually pumped from the Delta.[13] This generated controversy, as EBMUD preferred the cleaner water from the American River, but environmentalists and Sacramento had concerns about the impacts such a diversion would have on the river. The legal battle led to affirmation of EBMUD's water right, but modifications were also negotiated. The intake point was moved downstream, to maintain minimum flows in the American River before it merges with the Sacramento.

text: North Bay[edit]

text: The North Bay Aqueduct of the California State Water Project delivers an annual average of 39,309 acre-feet of water to urban communities and agricultural users in Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Marin counties. That water is diverted from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta Estuary, a water hub that serves as the junction of south-, west, and north-flowing rivers draining the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.

text: Certain municipalities north of San Francisco Bay, including Santa Rosa and Petaluma, are served by the Sonoma County Water Agency. Their primary water source is the Russian River. However, it must be noted that the Russian River owes its summer flow in large part to the Eel, which is bled off via a tunnel into Potter Valley (via the Potter Valley Project) and flows to a reservoir near Ukiah, Lake Mendocino. PG&E now owns the rights to this delivery system, as well as the long controversial history. There are many[who?] along the Eel who would like their water back.

text: The cities of Vallejo, Fairfield, and Vacaville are served by the Solano County Water Agency, which transports water from Lake Berryessa and moves it south along the Putah South Canal. Marin County has the Marin Municipal Water District and the North Marin Water District.

text: Planning and management[edit]

text: The planning and management of water in California is subject to a vast number of laws, regulations, management plans, and historic water rights. The state agency responsible for water planning is the California Department of Water Resources.

text: California water plans[edit]

text: There have been several documents known as the "California Water Plan", with the most recent being published in 2013.[56] Before the state of California started drafting comprehensive plans for the management of water in the state, the earliest plan for water distribution in California was an 1873 report. This was followed by a 1919 report called "Irrigation of Twelve Million Acres in the Valley of California". The 1919 report is this first comprehensive plan, and is often called the "Marshall Plan", after its author Col. Robert Bradford Marshall. There have been many subsequent water plans and water plan updates, which were often issued as California Department of Water Resources bulletins.[57] California Water Code provides guidance or the plan updates.[58] Beginning in 1957, early Water Plan Updates were largely technical and focused on water supply development. Plans gradually became more comprehensive to address the state's growing conflicts over limited resources. Updates now present the status and trends of California's water-dependent natural resources; water supplies; and agricultural, urban, and environmental water demands for a range of plausible future scenarios. They also evaluate different combinations of regional and statewide resource management strategies to reduce water demand, increase water supply, reduce flood risk, improve water quality, and enhance environmental and resource stewardship. The evaluations and assessments performed for the updates help identify effective actions and policies for meeting California's resource management objectives in the near term and for several decades to come.

text: Since 2000, another major goal for each update has been to receive broad input and support from Californians. Preparation of these new millennial Water Plan updates has been widely viewed as exceptionally transparent and collaborative as the consensus seeking process is routinely cited by other agencies and states as a model for policy planning efforts.[59] The approach involves: interest based dialog and exchange among teams, committees and the public to develop work products; multiple opportunities for review by different audiences; and integration and reconciliation of feedback from a variety of perspectives.

text: Update 2013 leverages the clear guidance Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. (Jerry Brown) forged with his California Water Action Plan.[60] That five-year plan, released in January 2014, outlines a succinct set of actions that together bring reliability, restoration, and resilience to California water resources, even as the state's population is expected to grow from 38 million to 50 million by 2049.

text: Three related themes distinguish Update 2013 from Update 2009. The five year time span reinforced the value of integrated water management, and Update 2013 closely examines the practices and policies that allow water managers to combine flood management, environmental stewardship, and surface water and groundwater supply actions to deliver multiple benefits across a region. Fundamental to that integrated approach is better alignment in the management of data, planning, policy-making, and regulation across local, State, tribal, and federal governments.

text: Water rights[edit]

text: On more than one occasion, the California Supreme Court has noted that "the scope and technical complexity of issues concerning water resource management are unequalled by virtually any other type of activity presented to the courts."[61][62] An example of this complexity is demonstrated in the case of National Audubon Society v. Superior Court.

text: Water rights are divided in multiple ways. Water rights to surface water and underground sources are separate. Also, California recognizes four distinct types of water rights to surface water in its statutory and common law: pueblo, riparian, prior appropriation, and water reserved by the US. A fifth statutory right also provides area of origin watershed rights.[citation needed]

text: Pueblo water rights[edit]

text: California recognizes water rights granted to pueblos (settlements) under the Spanish and Mexican governments, prior to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.[63][64] Under the doctrine, pueblos organized under the laws of Mexico or Spain have a water right to the yield of all streams and rivers flowing through the city and the groundwater aquifers lying below.[65] Pueblo water rights are superior to all riparian and appropriative rights and cannot be lost by a failure to assert an interest or use the water.[66] In addition, the pueblo's claim expands with the needs of the city and may be used to supply the needs of areas that are later annexed to the city.[66] Los Angeles and San Diego are the only original pueblos to exercise their pueblo water rights in the courts.

text: Pueblo water rights are controversial. Some modern scholars and courts argue that the pueblo water rights doctrine lacks a historical basis in Spanish or Mexican water law.[67]

text: Riparian water rights[edit]

text: Under the riparian doctrine, "the owner of land has the right to divert the water flowing by his land for use upon his land, without regard to the extent of such use or priority in time".[68] "Riparians on a stream system are vested with a common ownership such that in times of water shortage all riparians must reduce their usage proportionately."[69]

text: Riparian water rights were inherited from the common law of England.[70] Under the doctrine, property owners have correlative rights to the reasonable use of the water passing through their land adjacent to the watercourse. The right is part and parcel with the land itself and, in California, only accompanies those tracts that have always directly touched the water.[71]

text: The English focus on landownership differs sharply from the "first in time, first in right" approach 49ers, who were generally trespassing on federal land, developed to wash hills into rivers.[72] In Lux v. Haggin (1886) the California Supreme Court resolved the conflict by finding that riparian water rights are superior even to older prior appropriations. When in 1926 the Court went so far as to find that riparian owners did not need to put their water to beneficial use, the People amended the California Constitution to reverse the decision, establishing that no water in the state may be wasted.[73]

text: While riparian rights are superior to appropriative rights and may survive dormant and unused, in 1979 the California Supreme Court found that the California State Water Resources Control Board has the power to assign unused riparian rights lower priority than existing prior appropriations.[74]

text: Water rights by prior appropriation[edit]

text: "The appropriation doctrine confers upon one who actually diverts and uses water the right to do so provided that the water is used for reasonable and beneficial uses," regardless of whether that person owns land contiguous to the watercourse.[69] In addition, all appropriative rights are subordinate to riparians or earlier appropriators.[69] In times of shortage riparians are entitled to fulfill their needs before appropriators are entitled to any use of the water.[75] "And, as between appropriators, the rule of priority is 'first in time, first in right.'"[76] Beginning in 1914, a statutory scheme has provided the exclusive method of acquiring appropriation rights through the California State Water Resources Control Board.[77] The modern system of prior appropriation water rights followed by California is characterized by five principles:

text:
Exclusive right is given to the original appropriator, and all following rights are conditional upon precedent rights.
All rights are conditional upon beneficial use.
Water may be used on riparian lands or non-riparian lands (i.e. water may be used on the land next to the water source, or on land removed from the water source)
Diversion is permitted, regardless of the shrinkage of the river or stream.
The right may be lost through non-use.[78]

tag: ol

text: Beneficial use is defined as agricultural, industrial, or urban use. Environmental uses, such as maintaining body of water and the wildlife that use it, were not initially regarded as beneficial uses in some states but have been accepted in some areas.[79] Every water right is parameterized by an annual yield and an appropriation date. When a water right is sold, it maintains its original appropriation date.

text: Water reserved by the United States[edit]

text: Lands reserved by the United States government are accompanied by a corresponding reservation of water rights for as much water is needed to fulfill the purpose for which the reservation was made. Such reservations were made on behalf of Native American tribes, national parks, monuments and forests.[80][80][81][82] Water rights reserved by the United States are defined by and controlled by federal law. And because reserved water rights are not riparian nor appropriative, they may conflict with state law.[80]

text: Area of origin watershed rights[edit]

text: California provides communities and other water users within watersheds senior status over appropriative water rights in limited circumstances.[83] California area of origin laws include The County of Origin Law (1931), The Water Protection Statute (1933), and The Delta Protection Act (1959).[84]

text: Area of origin water rights parallel pueblo water rights. In both cases, water is reserved for future growth of the local community. In other words, appropriations may be subject to a water rights claim from people/government in the area of origin. That later claim would be senior despite its temporal disconnect. As a result of its pueblo rights, Los Angeles has rights to all or almost all water from the Los Angeles River.[which?] In the same way, communities along major water sources such as the Sacramento River theoretically have senior water rights to support growth despite a downstream user holding otherwise senior appropriative water rights.[citation needed]

text: Area of origin laws were passed in reaction to the controversies related to Los Angeles diverting water from the Owens Valley.[citation needed] Despite being on the books for generations, the area of origin statutes were not used until 2000. In addition, there currently are no court opinions regarding area of origin watershed rights.[citation needed]

text: Adjudication[edit]

text: Since under the law, landowners can extract as much groundwater from their property as they can put to beneficial use, adjudication was used to determine who had the right to pump how much and to audit such usage.[85] The courts appoint water masters to audit usage and otherwise enforce water rights, who are often management boards, the federal United States Department of the Interior, the California Department of Water Resources, or an individual.[85][86][87]

text: Disputes and controversies[edit]

text: The California Water Wars, a struggle between Los Angeles and certain parties within the Owens Valley, for water rights is but one of examples of the alleged wrongdoings of municipalities and people in securing adequate water supplies. The city of Los Angeles bought 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land from residents of the Owens Valley and the water rights attached with them, for a fair price. The diverting of this water from the valley, transformed it from an agricultural valley into a dust bowl.[49]

text: The electricity produced by the hydroelectric plants drawing their water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir became the subject of controversy when it was reported by the San Francisco Bay Guardian that the city of San Francisco sold roughly 500 megawatts of power to the PG&E,[88] supposedly in violation of the Raker Act, which specifies that because the source of water and power was on public land, no private profit could be gained from such sales. Whether or not the Raker Act is indeed being violated is still a matter of controversy.

text: The creation of so many dams in California in order to enact a pragmatic water supply program has been met with criticism from some environmentalists,[which?] who have decried the negative effects of dams on ecosystems, particularly on migratory fish populations.[89]

text: Predicted need for increased water supplies[edit]

text: This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2013)

text: It is projected that California's population will grow to almost 50 million by 2050.[90] If the prediction comes true and there is no action to increase the water supply, the difference between water demand and supply would be between 2,000,000 and 6,000,000 acre feet (7.4 km3) in the year 2020.[91] Over the past five years California voters have approved $3 billion in bonds for water development and management. Many of these projects are incorporated in the CALFED Bay-Delta program, a federal-state program designed to reduce water supply conflicts. In August 2000 the state and federal governments approved the CALFED plan for water quality, water conservation and recycling, watershed administration, ecosystem re-establishment, delta levees, surface and groundwater storage, water transportation, and science. The plan has a thirty-year implementation period and designed to incorporate changes in conditions and knowledge about the effects of specific projects. Stage 1 was initiated in 2000 and was designed as a seven-year program. The cost is estimated to be $8.7 billion.[92] Stage 1 water yield within the next seven to ten years is estimated to be 2,900,000 acre feet (3.6 km3) per year.[91] As part of Stage 1, an Environmental Water Account was established through the purchase of 350,000 acre feet (0.43 km3) of water. The EWA is used to protect fish and other wildlife without reducing water allocations to farms and municipalities.

text: A $7.5 billion water bond was approved in November 2014 with a 2 to 1 ratio.[93] The bond-financing has been contentiously debated by the legislature and Governor Jerry Brown for the past few years, was said to improve the water quality, supply and infrastructure, if passed by voters.[94]

text: Natural disasters and California water[edit]

text: Major droughts in California history since 1900[edit]

text:
1917–21
1922–26
1928–37
1943–51
1959–62
1976–77
1987–92
2007–09
2012–15[95][96]

tag: ul

text: Archives relating to California water[edit]

text: The California Water Documents collection in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library is a valuable online resource of archived materials related to California's water history. Additionally, the collection has digitized materials relating to the creation and operation of both the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project as well as their component units.[97] The items represented in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library are part of a larger collection entitled the Water Resources Collection in Special Collections at Claremont Colleges' Honnold/Mudd Library. The Water Resources Collection was started in the 1930s by Librarian Willis Holmes Kerr and Librarian and Claremont Colleges' Trustee John Treanor.[98] These librarians' interest in California's water problem led them to start collecting a variety of documents related to water history and usage from around the state. It includes reports of engineers, annual reports and minute books of boards of directors of water companies, documents of federal and state governments, promotional pamphlets, and newspaper clippings.[98] Most of the documents focus on the water history from the first half of the 20th century, but there are additional, more recent publications included, which have been donated by Claremont Graduate University Professor Merrill Goodall.[98] The California Water Documents collection is currently a work in progress at the Claremont Colleges Digital Library.

text: The Water Resources Collections and Archives is located at the University of California, Riverside and features a comprehensive collection of water-resource related documents.