California Code, Water Code - WAT § 13000

The Legislature finds and declares that the people of the state have a primary interest in the conservation, control, and utilization of the water resources of the state, and that the quality of all the waters of the state shall be protected for use and enjoyment by the people of the state.

The Legislature further finds and declares that activities and factors which may affect the quality of the waters of the state shall be regulated to attain the highest water quality which is reasonable, considering all demands being made and to be made on those waters and the total values involved, beneficial and detrimental, economic and social, tangible and intangible.

The Legislature further finds and declares that the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state requires that there be a statewide program for the control of the quality of all the waters of the state;  that the state must be prepared to exercise its full power and jurisdiction to protect the quality of waters in the state from degradation originating inside or outside the boundaries of the state;  that the waters of the state are increasingly influenced by interbasin water development projects and other statewide considerations;  that factors of precipitation, topography, population, recreation, agriculture, industry and economic development vary from region to region within the state;  and that the statewide program for water quality control can be most effectively administered regionally, within a framework of statewide coordination and policy.