Dept. of Water Resources Cases

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

The following facts are taken from the evidence set forth in the papers filed in connection with the summary judgment motion, except that to which objections were properly made and sustained. (Yanowitz v. L’Oreal USA, Inc. (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1028, 1037.) We summarize the evidence in the light most favorable to the County, the party opposing summary judgment, resolving any doubts concerning the evidence in its favor. (Ibid.) We also provide some relevant background facts from our Supreme Court’s decision in Property Reserve, Inc. v. Superior Court (2016) 1 Cal.5th 151 (Property Reserve). “In an effort to improve the reliability of the water supply system in California as well as to address environmental and ecological concerns, [DWR] undertook to investigate the feasibility of constructing a new tunnel or canal in the Sacramento-San

3 Joaquin Delta as a means of delivering fresh water from Northern California to Central and Southern California. As part of the preliminary steps in going forward with the project, [DWR] sought to conduct environmental and geological studies and testing on more than 150 privately owned parcels of land that the state, in the…