Orland Project Water Management Act

This legislation amends the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 to establish a mechanism for water transfers between federal water projects. It specifically grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to make water from the Orland Project available to the Sacramento Canal Unit of the Central Valley Project . These transfers can be initiated upon the request of the Orland Unit Water Users Association and are permissible at any time, without regard to the water year type, provided the Secretary determines consistency with the Central Valley Project's objectives. Crucially, the bill includes rules of construction clarifying that these provisions do not create new benefits under the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, nor do they affect existing valid water rights, pending water right applications, or cause redirected impacts to the Orland Project from temporary water supply contracts.