Inadvertent Disclosure of Water Right Account Information for Rights in the Delta Watershed
**This email is being sent to subscribers of the Delta Water Rights email subscription list.**
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) recently became aware of an incident that may impact the privacy of information entered into the Report Management System (RMS) or Water Right Form and Survey Submittal Portal (Survey Portal).
Login information for the RMS and Survey Portal was inadvertently placed on a file server accessible to individuals outside the Board. The posting occurred in the course of litigation regarding the drought emergency regulations for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) watershed. With this login information, an individual may have been able to access a water right holder’s name, phone number, email, address, and reports submitted to the RMS or Survey Portal by the water right holder. Upon learning of this incident, the Board immediately restricted access to the two systems for all users and reset access credentials for all potentially affected water rights and claims in the Delta watershed.
There is no indication that the disclosed information has been accessed, shared or used in any unauthorized way.
This incident did not impact usernames and passwords created as part of the Delta Alternative Compliance Plan website (Delta ACP), which can be used to complete annual Supplemental Statement of Water Diversion and Use reports.
The Board is sending two letters to potentially affected water right holders and claimants in the Delta watershed in the coming weeks. The first letter will provide additional information related to the disclosure and the second letter will inform users how to securely access the RMS and Survey Portal.
The Board takes its responsibility to protect the personal information of right holders seriously and regrets any difficulty caused by this incident. It is reviewing and updating its internal procedures and protocols to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent a similar incident in the future.
Additional information related to the incident will also be available in a notice posted to the California Attorney General’s webpage at: https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/databreach/list.
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact the Delta Watermaster’s Communication Specialist, Kristi Matal, by email at: Kristi.Matal@waterboards.ca.gov or by phone at: (916) 319-8264.
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