With the recent drought, water transfers have become a significant and permanent part of California water management, according to a new study by UC Davis researchers. The voluntary transfer of water between different water users is a new feature that will be integrated into the state's water planning, much like the new water storage and delivery facilities constructed after the 1920s and'30s drought and the urban conservation measures introduced after the 1976-77 drought, predicts Jay Lund, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. He and two graduate students have reviewed the recent use of water transfers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "Each new drought has motivated creative and long-lasting innovations in California water management," Lund says, "and the nation has a history of learning from California's water experiences." One lesson is government support. Through the 1991 and 1992 California Drought Emergency Water Banks, the first such large-scale program of its kind in the country, large quantities of water were transferred in a relatively short span of time to provide water for critical municipal, industrial and agricultural needs; preservation of fish and wildlife; and carry-over storage for potential additional dry years.