- with readers working within the Environment & Waste Management industries
On October 23, 2025, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) announced a new online platform – the Water Accounting, Tracking, and Reporting System (CalWATRS). CalWATRS replaces the Electronic Water Rights Information System (eWRIMS) platform.
Background
CalWATRS was created through the State Water Board's Updating Water Rights Data for California (UPWARD) project, which started in 2021. The goal of UPWARD was to update the agency's eWRIMS system that had been in place since 2006.
According to the State Water Board, CalWATRS "will help reduce administrative burden while improving data quality on water diversion and use through new features that prevent errors and simplify the reporting process." It also "will, for the first time, make the state's 40,000 water rights records easily accessible to the public, while streamlining reporting for water rights holders."
What This Means for Water Rights Holders
Going forward, all water rights holders will be required to use CalWATRS instead of eWRIMS. To access CalWATRS, holders will need to utilize PIN numbers that the State Water Board mailed in late October; the login information for eWRIMS will not work on the new platform. Parties with multiple rights may receive multiple PINs in either one or multiple letters.
The goal here is to simplify and streamline the annual water use reporting for water rights holders (as well as provide a more public-friendly interface). One key improvement is that holders can map multiple places of use directly within the platform. The agency also provided an FAQ handout entitled "CalWATRS for Organizations" that includes more logistical information.
The State Water Board has noted that while CalWATRS' key features are working, there may still be issues with the performance of the site as it is fine-tuned. It provided a contact email address and phone number for parties that run into issues or have suggestions: CalWATRS-help@waterboards.ca.gov and 916-341-5333.
The general website for CalWATRS, which provided additional information can be found here.
What This Means for the Public
CalWATRS is focused on improving transparency for the public as much as it is for improving the process for water rights holders. The biggest difference is to the mapping functions, which include the ability to view rights by different levels of specificity from by stream to by individual property parcel.
Upcoming Workshops
The State Water Board will be hosting numerous meetings to detail its new platform, the details of which can be found here. The two most significant meetings will be on November 6 and November 12.
The November 6 meeting, starting at 11:00 am, which is co-hosted by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), "offers a comprehensive walkthrough of the system, showcasing its advanced capabilities for record access, form submission, and streamlined annual reporting." Parties can register here.
The meeting on November 12, scheduled at 1 p.m., is the one the agency is highlighting the most and will be a virtual public workshop. This event is focused on water rights holders and will include a demonstration of CalWATRS' key features and a question-and-answer session. The notice for that meeting and details on joining are here.
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