As used in this article:

“Include,” except when used in relation to the inclusion of land into a district, does not necessarily exclude matters not enumerated.

“Person” means any public agency or public corporation, whether federal, state, or local, or any private corporation, firm, partnership, individual, or group of individuals and includes a district levying a water replenishment assessment hereunder.

“Water year” means the period commencing on October 1st of one calendar year and ending on September 30th of the calendar year immediately following.

“Fiscal year” means the period commencing on July 1st of one calendar year and ending on June 30th of the calendar year immediately following.

“Ground water” means nonsaline water beneath the surface of the ground, whether or not flowing through known and definite channels.

“Nonsaline water” means water which has less than 1,000 parts of chlorides to 1,000,000 parts of water.

“Production” or “producing” means the extraction or extracting of ground water, by pumping or any other method, from shafts, tunnels, wells (including, but not limited to, abandoned oil wells), excavations, or other sources of such ground water, for domestic, municipal, irrigation, industrial, or other beneficial use, except that such terms shall not mean or include the extraction or extracting of ground water incidentally produced with oil in the production of oil or gas nor the extraction or extracting of ground water incidentally produced in a bona fide mining operation or in the bona fide construction of a tunnel for railroad, highway, aqueduct, pipeline, or other useful purpose (except the production of ground water for use or sale) unless the ground water so extracted shall be used or sold by the producer for domestic, municipal, irrigation, industrial, or other beneficial purpose.

“Water-producing facility” means any device or method, mechanical or otherwise, for the production of ground water from the ground water supplies within the district.

“Owner” means the person or persons owning any water-producing facility or any interest therein other than a lien to secure the payment of a debt or other obligation.

“Operator” means the person or persons operating a water-producing facility; the owner thereof shall be conclusively presumed to be such operator unless satisfactory showing be made to the board of directors of the district that such water-producing facility actually is operated by some other person or persons. “Operator” shall mean any “person” mentioned in Section 71683 who is operating a water-producing facility, it being the purpose of this article to include any such person within the provisions hereof.

“Producer” means any person or operator producing ground water within the boundaries of the district.

“Annual overdraft” means the amount, as determined by the board, by which the quantity of ground water removed by any natural or artificial means from the ground water supplies within the district during the water year exceeds the quantity of nonsaline water replaced therein by the replenishment of such ground water supplies in such water year by any natural or artificial means other than replensihment under the provisions of this article or by any other governmental agency or entity.

“Accumulated overdraft” means the aggregate amount, as determined from time to time by the board, by which the quantity of ground water removed by any natural or artificial means from the ground water supplies within the district during all preceding water years shall have exceeded the quantity of nonsaline water replaced therein by the replenishment of such ground water supplies in such water years by any natural or artificial means, the respective determination to be based upon reports, records, and other data or evidence found by the board to be adequate for the purpose of making such determination.

“Makeup water” means water of useable quality for ground water recharge required to be delivered to downstream users pursuant to a court judgment.

(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1725.)