Upcoming Reporting Deadline for California Water Right Holders to Submit Annual Use and Diversion Reports to New CalWATRS Database

California water right holders have until January 31, 2026 to electronically file their annual water use and diversion reports to the State Water Resources Control Board’s new California Water Accounting, Tracking, and Reporting System (CalWATRS) database. In 2025, the State Board launched the CalWATRS database to replace the outdated Electronic Water Rights Information Management System (eWRIMS), thereby modernizing the system for water right reporting and recordkeeping in the state. 

The State Board’s transition to CalWATRS is part of a larger effort — Updating Water Rights Data (UPWARD) — to modernize California’s water right data management system to allow for more comprehensive, accessible, and timely data collection and information; to improve transparency; and to inform decision-making with real-time and accurate data. Advantages of the new CalWATRS system include enhanced user-accessibility features, including improved record and document search options, and an updated GIS mapping interface that allows users to search for a particular water right by owner, address, or map location and to view and download readily available and detailed information about a particular water right. The updated mapping tools also allow water right holders to update geospatial features of their water right and to plot details, such as points of diversion and places of use, within the system.

To submit the annual reports, water right holders and reporters must first migrate records from the eWRIMS database to the CalWATRS database by creating a new account, entering a personal identification number (PIN), and submitting a request to migrate the records. In October and November 2025, the State Board sent letters and e-mails to water right holders, which include the PINs for the new system. Once users enter their PIN and submit the request, the records are expected to migrate to the CalWATRS database within 24 hours. Only after the records have migrated to CalWATRS can water right holders and reporters begin preparing and submitting their annual reports.

Under the State Board’s rules, no late reporting fees will apply for late reporting within a 30-day period after the January 31st deadline (between February 1st to March 1st). For the current reporting period, late reporting fees will begin to apply between March 2nd and April 1st and are assessed based on the size of the water right and the number of days since the deadline with higher fees imposed on larger water rights. The late reporting fees are calculated as percentages of the annual water right fee which is similarly based on the size of the water right (i.e., $350 plus $0.12 per each acre-foot greater than 10 acre-feet). The late reporting fees are 25%-60% of the annual water right fee for filings 31-60 days late (March 2nd-April 1st), 40%-75% for 61-90 days late (April 2nd-May 1st), and 50-85% for filings more than 90 days late (May 2nd onwards). For example, for a holder of a 180 acre-foot water right, the amount due under the 2026 Fee Schedule would be $370.40, and a filing made 60 days late would add an additional penalty of $111.12.

The State Board’s website provides resources on various topics related to the transition to the CalWATRS database, which are available here. Should you have any questions related to your annual reporting obligations or the new CalWATRS database, Allen Matkins has a dedicated team actively working on water law issues that would be happy to assist.