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Spanish colonizers define water rights for the West Coast.

1769

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After the Spanish colonize Alta California in 1769, they conscript "thousands of 'Native Californians' into labor, dividing the lands into missions, pueblos, and ranchos and establishing California’s first system of water rights. The missions and pueblos were located along rivers or smaller coastal streams, and their inhabitants usually dug wells or diverted water, using small dams for domestic use and irrigation. Spanish law granted the missions and pueblos a preferential right to an adequate water supply for their residents, including water for irrigation" (Hanak & Lund, 2011).