Dams and reservoirs: exclusions.

Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to supervise the maintenance and operation of dams and reservoirs as necessary to safeguard life and property. Existing law requires the department to adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to cover the department's costs in carrying out the supervision of dam safety. Existing law excludes certain obstructions from being considered a dam, including a barrier not across a stream channel, watercourse, or natural drainage area and that has the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use. This bill would specify that a structure owned or operated by a public entity may have the principal purpose of impounding water for agricultural use for the purposes of an exclusion from being considered a dam, provided the structure is no greater than 20 feet in height.