Ryan Bezerra joined the firm in 1999 and became a principal in 2002. His practice focuses on water-right and water-supply matters, including surface-water and groundwater rights, related environmental and endangered-species issues, water supply assessments and water-related legislation and regulations. He is the special water counsel for the Cities of Folsom, Roseville and Santa Cruz. He is the general counsel for the Regional Water Authority, which represents the Sacramento metropolitan area’s municipal and industrial water suppliers; Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, which is the primary agricultural water supplier in Yolo County; and Lockeford Community Services District. Mr. Bezerra participated in the drafting of the statewide general permit for aquifer storage and recovery projects (available here) and in the Association of California Water Agencies’ (ACWA) preparation of the first draft of legislation that became the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. He has represented clients in three groundwater basin adjudications and multiple State Water Resources Control Board proceedings, including the California WaterFix water-right hearing. His publications include Submerged in the Yuba River: The State Water Resources Control Board’s Prioritization of the Governor’s Commission’s Proposals, 36 McGeorge L. Rev. 331 (2005). He frequently presents at conferences and annually teaches a session on the reasonable use of water under Article X, section two, of the California Constitution at the University of California, Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. Mr. Bezerra is a member of ACWA’s State Legislative and Legal Affairs Committees. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis in 1992 and his law degree from Boalt Hall in 1995. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif.

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You can reach Mr. Bezerra at:

• Direct Line - (916) 325-9907

• Email - rsb@bkslawfirm.com