 "Gin Chow" is considered a landmark case in the development of California water law, as it upheld the 1928 amendment, reducing riparian landowners' legal power over the state's water resources.This enabled more parties, such as the city of Santa Barbara, to file claims on surface water as long as the concept of "reasonable use" was observed.The court also emphasized that "what is such "reasonable use" is a question of fact, and depends upon the circumstances appearing in each particular case" and that "it requires no extraordinary foresight to envision the great and increasing population of the state... dependent upon "stored water" – water that is now wasted into the sea and lost to any beneficial use.