Cal. Codes » Government Code / TITLE 1. GENERAL / DIVISION 3.6. CLAIMS AND ACTIONS AGAINST PUBLIC ENTITIES AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES / PART 2. LIABILITY OF PUBLIC ENTITIES AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES / CHAPTER 2. Dangerous Conditions of Public Property / ARTICLE 1. General
California Codes

Cal. Government Code § 831.8 (2026)

General — Dangerous Conditions of Public Property

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(a)Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition of a reservoir if at the time of the injury the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than that for which the public entity intended or permitted the property to be used.

(b)Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither an irrigation district nor an employee thereof nor the state nor a state employee is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition of canals, conduits, or drains used for the distribution of water if at the time of the injury the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than that for which the district or state intended it to be used.

(c)Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public agency operating flood control and water conservation facilities nor its employees are liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition or use of unlined flood control channels or adjacent groundwater recharge spreading grounds if, at the time of the injury, the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than that for which the public entity intended it to be used, and, if all of the following conditions are met:

(1)The public agency operates and maintains dams, pipes, channels, and appurtenant facilities to provide flood control protection and water conservation for a county whose population exceeds nine million residents.

(2)The public agency operates facilities to recharge a groundwater basin system which is the primary water supply for more than one million residents.

(3)The groundwater supply is dependent on imported water recharge which must be conducted in accordance with court-imposed basin management restrictions.

(4)The basin recharge activities allow the conservation and storage of both local and imported water supplies when these waters are available.

(5)The public agency posts conspicuous signs warning of any increase in waterflow levels of an unlined flood control channel or any spreading ground receiving water.

(d)Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous condition of property if all of the following occur:

(1)The injured person was not guilty of a criminal offense under Article 1 (commencing with Section 552) of Chapter 12 of Title 13 of Part 1 of the Penal Code in entering on or using the property.

(2)The condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm when the property or adjacent property was used with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used.

(3)The dangerous character of the condition was not reasonably apparent to, and would not have been anticipated by, a mature, reasonable person using the property with due care.

(4)The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the condition.

(e)Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous condition of property if all of the following occur:

(1)The person injured was less than 12 years of age.

(2)The dangerous condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm to children under 12 years of age using the property or adjacent property with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used.

(3)The person injured, because of his or her immaturity, did not discover the condition or did not appreciate its dangerous character.

(4)The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the condition.

(f)Nothing in subdivision (c) exonerates a public agency or public employee subject to that subdivision from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous condition of public property if all of the following occur:

(1)The person injured was 16 years of age or younger.

(2)The dangerous condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm to children 16 years of age or younger using the property or adjacent property with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used.

(3)The person injured did not discover the condition or did not appreciate its dangerous character because of his or her immaturity.

(4)The public entity or public employee had actual knowledge of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the condition.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1967–2024 · leading case: Delta Farms Reclamation Dist. v. Superior Court, 660 P.2d 1168 (Cal. 1983).
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Delta Farms Reclamation Dist. v. Superior Court, 660 P.2d 1168 (Cal. 1983). · cites it 4× “Government Code Section 831.8, Subdivision (b) This section provides that, subject to certain exceptions specified in subdivisions (c) and (d), "neither an irrigation district nor an employee thereof nor the State nor a state employee is liable under this chapter for an injury…”
Hibbs v. Los Angeles Cnty. Flood Control Dist., 252 Cal. App. 2d 166 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967). “) (Gov. Code, § 831.8.) It seems clear that under the Governmental Liability Act of 1963 a public entity is required to take suitable precautions to protect small children from the risk of injury in an improved waterway where the risk is substantial and where it is practicable…”
Perez v. Oakdale Irrigation Dist., 317 Cal. Rptr. 3d 40 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023). “The trial court granted summary judgment on several grounds, including that “canal immunity” (Gov. Code, § 831.8, subd. (b))1 defeated recovery.”
Perez v. Oakdale Irrigation Dist., No. F084621 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 8, 2024). “The trial court granted summary judgment on several grounds, including that “canal immunity” (Gov. Code, § 831.8, subd. (b)) 1 defeated recovery.”
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