Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly Volume 17 Article 10 Number 1 Fall 1989 1-1-1989 In Search of Bigfoot: The ommonC Law Origins of Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution Brian E. Gray Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/ hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation Brian E. Gray, In Search of Bigfoot: The Common Law Origins of Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution, 17 Hastings Const. L.Q. 225 (1989). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly/vol17/iss1/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. "In Search of Bigfoot": The Common Law Origins of Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution By BRIAN E. GRAY* I. Introduction In a constitution laden with obscure and sometimes trivial provi- sions, Article X, section 2 is surely among the least known and least appreciated. Enacted by initiative in 1928, this section directs that all uses of California's water resources must be reasonable and for beneficial purposes.' The policy of Article X, section 2 is set forth in its first sen- tence, which provides: [B]ecause of the conditions prevailing in this State the general wel- fare requires that the water resources of the State be put to benefi- cial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable, and that the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and that the conservation of such waters is to be ex- ercised with a view to the reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interest of the people and for the public welfare.' The second sentence of the amendment implements this policy, declaring that [t]he right to water..