Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources, in coordination with the State Water Resources Control Board, to conduct necessary studies and investigations, and recommend for adoption by the board appropriate variances for unique uses that can have a material effect on an urban retail water supplier’s urban water use objective. Existing law requires the department, in recommending variances, to also recommend a threshold of significance for each recommended variance. Existing law requires an urban retail water supplier to request and receive approval by the board for inclusion of a variance in calculating their water use objective. Existing law requires the board to post specified information on its internet website relating to variances, including a list of all urban retail water suppliers with approved variances.
This bill would
require the board to adopt variances recommended by the department for unique uses that can have a material effect on an urban retail water supplier’s urban water use objective. The bill would provide that variances adopted by the board shall not be subject to a threshold of significance. The bill would require an urban retail water supplier to self-certify the amount of water included in its urban water use objective that is attributable to a variance. The bill would require the board to randomly audit a select number of variances each year to ensure the self-certifications are based on variances adopted by the board. The bill would delete the provision relating to posting specified information about variances on the board’s internet website and the provision requiring an urban retail water supplier to request and receive approval by the board for inclusion of a variance in calculating their water use objective.
Existing law requires an urban retail water supplier
to calculate its urban water use objective and its actual urban water use no later than January 1, 2024, and by January 1 every year thereafter. Existing law requires each urban retail water supplier’s water use objective to be composed of the sum of specified aggregate estimates, including efficient outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters or equivalent technology in connection with water used by commercial water users, industrial water users, institutional water users, and large landscape water users (CII). Existing law requires an urban retail water supplier to submit reports to the department, as provided, by the same dates.
This bill would require the department to collect and update data for outdoor residential landscapes and CII landscapes once every 10 years and post the data on its internet website. The bill would authorize an urban retail water supplier to include in the calculation of the urban retail water supplier’s water
use up to 20% of the landscape areas that are not currently irrigated but could be irrigated. The bill would authorize an urban retail water supplier to submit reports by January 1 or July 1 whether reporting is submitted on a calendar year or fiscal year basis. The bill would require, as part of the report to be submitted in 2026, each urban retail water supplier to provide a narrative that describes the water demand management measures that the supplier plans to implement to achieve its urban water use objective by January 1, 2030.
Existing law authorizes the board, on or after January 1, 2024, to issue informational orders pertaining to water production, water use, and water conservation to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective. Existing law authorizes the board, on and after January 1, 2025, to issue a written notice to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective. Existing law
authorizes the board, on and after January 1, 2026, to issue a conservation order to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective.
This bill would instead extend the time by which the board is authorized to issue informational orders to on or after January 1, 2026, issue a written notice to on or after January 1, 2027, and issue a conservation order to on or after January 1, 2030.
Existing law requires the department, in coordination with the board, to submit a report to the Legislature on the progress of urban retail water suppliers towards achieving their urban water use objective on or before January 1, 2028.
The bill would instead require the report to be submitted to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2030.
Existing law provides that an urban retail water supplier who violates certain regulations after November 1, 2027, may be liable for specified penalties, as provided.
This bill would instead provide that urban retail water suppliers may be liable for specified penalties for violating those regulations after November 1, 2031.