Storage of groundwater is accomplished through a process called Carryover Conversion. Carryover Conversion transforms one-year carryover into stored water. A party wishing to do Carryover Conversion must state its intentions by filing an application to the Administrative Body (WRD) by the second week of August after the end of each administrative year.

A party converting one-year carryover to storage must also pay the Replenishment Assessment for that year. A party does not have to pay the Replenishment Assessment for use of stored water when it is pumped out in subsequent years.

Only the one-year carryover for an administrative year is available for Carryover Conversion.

All rights holders have an Individual Storage Account (ISA) that gives them the ability to store unused one-year carryover rights. In the Central Basin, the size of an ISA is 50% of a party’s Annual Pumping Right while in the West Coast Basin it is 40% of Adjudicated Rights.

Rights holders may store a volume of unused rights up to 200% of their total water rights with the balance going into Community Storage on a first-come, first-served basis. In the Central Basin this means that rights holders may store up to 150% of APA in Community Storage while in the West Coast Basin it is 160%.

Once a rights holder’s Individual Storage Account is full, they may apply to use space in the Community Storage Pool (CSP). Space in the CSP is limited and is given on a first-come, first-served basis. In the Central Basin, a party may store up to 150% of its Annual Pumping Rights in the CSP and in the West Coast Basin they may store 160%.