CHAPTER
9. Urban Water Use Objectives and Water Use Reporting
10609.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that this chapter establishes a method to estimate the aggregate amount of water that would have been delivered the previous year by an urban retail water supplier if all that water had been used efficiently. This estimated aggregate water use is the urban retail water supplier’s urban water use objective. The method is based on water use efficiency standards and local service area characteristics for that year. By comparing the amount of water actually used in the previous year with the urban water use objective, local urban water suppliers will be in a better position to help eliminate unnecessary use of water; that is, water used in excess of that needed to accomplish the intended
beneficial use.(b) The Legislature further finds and declares all of the following:
(1) This chapter establishes standards and practices for the following water uses:
(A) Indoor residential use.
(B) Outdoor residential use.
(C) CII water use.
(D) Water losses.
(E) Other unique local uses and situations that can have a material effect on an urban water supplier’s total water use.
(2) This chapter further does all
of the following:
(A) Establishes a method to calculate each urban water use
objective.
(B) Considers recycled water quality in establishing efficient irrigation standards.
(C) Requires the department to provide or otherwise identify data regarding the unique local conditions to support the calculation of an urban water use objective.
(D) Provides for the use of alternative sources of data if alternative sources are shown to be as accurate as, or more accurate than, the data provided by the department.
(E) Requires annual reporting of the previous year’s water use with the urban water use objective.
(F) Provides a credit for a portion of the amount of potable
recycled water used the previous year when comparing the previous year’s water use with the urban water use objective.
(3) This chapter requires the department and the board to solicit broad public participation from stakeholders and other interested persons in the development of the standards and the adoption of regulations pursuant to this chapter.
(4) This chapter preserves the Legislature’s authority over long-term water use efficiency target setting and ensures appropriate legislative oversight of the implementation of this chapter by doing all of the following:
(A) Requiring the Legislative Analyst to conduct a review of the implementation of this act, including compliance with the adopted standards and
regulations, accuracy of the data, use of alternate data, and other issues the Legislative Analyst deems appropriate.
(B) Stating legislative intent that the director of the department and the chairperson of the board appear before the appropriate Senate and Assembly policy committees to report on progress in implementing this chapter.
(C) Providing one-time-only authority to the department and board to adopt water use efficiency standards, except as explicitly provided in this chapter. Authorization to update the standards shall require separate legislation.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the following principles apply to the development and implementation of long-term standards and urban water use objectives:
(1) Local urban water suppliers should have primary responsibility for meeting standards-based water use targets, and they shall retain the flexibility to develop their water supply portfolios, design and implement water conservation strategies, educate their customers, and enforce their rules.
(2) Long-term standards and urban water use objectives should advance the state’s goals to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
(3) Long-term standards and urban water use objectives should acknowledge the shade, air quality, and heat-island reduction benefits provided to communities by trees through the support of water-efficient irrigation practices that keep trees healthy.
(4) The state should identify opportunities for streamlined reporting, eliminate redundant data submissions, and incentivize open access to data collected by urban and agricultural water suppliers.
10609.2.
(a) The board, in coordination with the department, shall adopt long-term standards for the efficient use of water pursuant to this chapter on or before June 30, 2021.(b) Standards shall be adopted for all of the following:
(1) Outdoor residential water use.
(2) Outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters in connection with CII water use.
(3) A volume for water loss.
(c) The long-term standards
shall be set at a level designed to meet so that together with the standard for indoor residential water use, the standards together would exceed the statewide conservation targets required pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10608.16).
(d) The board, in coordination with the department, may adopt by regulation variances recommended by the department pursuant to Section 10609.14 and guidelines and methodologies pertaining to the calculation of an urban water supplier’s urban water use objective recommended by the department pursuant to Section 10609.16.
10609.4.
(a) The (1) Until January 1, 2025, the standard for indoor residential water use shall be ____ 55 gallons per capita daily.(2) Beginning January 1,
2025, the standard for indoor residential water use shall be 50 gallons per capita daily.
(b) The department, in coordination with the board, may conduct necessary studies and investigations to jointly recommend to the Legislature a standard for indoor residential water use that more appropriately reflects best practices for indoor residential water use than the standard described in subdivision (a). A recommendation pursuant to this subdivision, if there is one, shall be made to the chairpersons of the relevant policy committees of each house of the Legislature by January 1, 2020, and shall include information necessary to support the recommended
standard.
10609.6.
(a) (1) The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and recommend, no later than October 1, 2020, standards for outdoor residential use for adoption by the board in accordance with this chapter.(2) (A) The standards shall incorporate the relevant principles of the model water efficient landscape ordinance adopted by the department pursuant to the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act (Article 10.8 (commencing with Section 65591) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code).
(B) The
standards shall apply to irrigable lands.
(C) The standards shall include provisions for swimming pools, spas, and other water features.
(b) The department shall, by January 1, 2020, provide each urban retail water supplier with data regarding the area of residential irrigable lands in a manner that can reasonably be applied to the standards adopted pursuant to this section.
(c) The department shall not recommend standards pursuant to this section until it has conducted pilot projects or studies, or some combination of the two, to ensure that the data provided to local agencies are reasonably accurate for the data’s intended uses.
10609.8.
(a) The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and recommend, no later than October 1, 2020, standards for outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters or other means of calculating outdoor irrigation use in connection with CII water use for adoption by the board in accordance with this chapter.(b) The standards shall incorporate the relevant principles of the model water efficient landscape ordinance adopted by the department pursuant to the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act (Article 10.8
(commencing with Section 65591) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code).
(c) The standards shall include an exclusion for water for
commercial agricultural use meeting the definition of subdivision (b) of Section 51201 of the Government Code.
10609.10.
(a) The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and recommend, no later than October 1, 2020, performance measures for CII water use for adoption by the board in accordance with this chapter.(b) Prior to recommending performance measures for CII water use, the department shall solicit broad public participation from stakeholders and other interested persons relating to all of the following:
(1) Recommendations for a CII water use classification system for California.
(2) Recommendations for setting minimum size thresholds for converting mixed CII meters to dedicated irrigation meters, and evaluation of, and recommendations for, technologies that could be used in lieu of requiring dedicated irrigation meters.
(3) Recommendations for CII water use best management practices, including, but not limited to, water audits and water management plans for those CII customers that exceed a recommended size, volume of water use, or other threshold.
(c) Recommendations of appropriate performance measures for CII water use shall consider the October 21, 2013, report to the Legislature by the Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Task Force entitled “Water Use Best Management Practices,” and shall support the economic productivity of California’s commercial,
industrial, and institutional sectors.
(d) (1) The board, in coordination with the department, shall adopt performance measures for CII water use on or before June 30, 2021.
(2) Each urban retail water supplier shall implement the performance measures adopted by the board pursuant to paragraph (1).
10609.12.
The standards for water loss for urban retail water suppliers shall be the standards adopted by the board pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 10608.34.10609.14.
(a) The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and, no later than October 1, 2020, recommend for adoption by the board in accordance with this chapter appropriate variances for unique uses that can have a material effect on an urban retail water supplier’s urban water use objective.(b) Appropriate variances may include, but are not limited to, allowances for the following:
(1) Significant use of evaporative coolers.
(2) Significant populations of horses and other livestock.
(3) Significant fluctuations in seasonal populations.
(4) Significant landscaped areas irrigated with recycled water having high levels of total dissolved solids.
10609.16.
The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and recommend, no later than October 1, 2020, guidelines and methodologies for the board to adopt that identify how an urban retail water supplier calculates its urban water use objective. The guidelines and methodologies shall address, as necessary, all of the following:(a) Determining the irrigable lands within the urban retail water supplier’s service area.
(b) Updating and revising methodologies described pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 10608.20, as appropriate, including
methodologies for calculating the population in an urban retail water supplier’s service area.
(c) Using landscape area data provided by the department or alternative data.
(d) Incorporating precipitation data and climate data into estimates of a urban retail water supplier’s outdoor irrigation budget for its urban water use objective.
(e) Estimating changes in outdoor landscape area and population, and calculating the urban water use objective, for years when updated landscape imagery is not available from the department.
(f) Determining acceptable levels of accuracy for the supporting data and the urban water use objective.
10609.18.
The department and the board shall solicit broad public participation from stakeholders and other interested persons in the development of the standards and the adoption of regulations pursuant to this chapter.10609.20.
(a) Each urban retail water supplier shall calculate its urban water use objective no later than July 1, 2022, and by July 1 every year thereafter.(b) The calculation shall be based on the urban retail water supplier’s water use conditions for the previous calendar year.
(c) Each urban water supplier’s urban water use objective shall be composed of the following:
(1) Aggregate estimated efficient indoor residential water use.
(2) Aggregate estimated efficient outdoor residential water
use.
(3) Aggregate estimated efficient outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters or equivalent technology in connection with CII water use.
(4) Aggregate estimated efficient water losses.
(5) Aggregate estimated water use in accordance with variances, as appropriate.
(d) An urban retail water supplier that delivers recycled water may adjust its urban water use objective by a credit calculated pursuant to this subdivision.
(1) The water use objective credit shall be the urban water use objective multiplied by a water use credit factor.
(2) The water use credit factor for 2021 shall be 10 percent.
(3) Beginning January 1, 2022, the water use credit factor for each subsequent year shall be 1 percentage point less than the credit factor for the previous year, until January 1, 2031, after which the credit factor shall reach and stay zero.
(d)
(e) (1) The calculation of the urban water use objective shall be made using landscape area and other data provided by the department and pursuant to the standards, guidelines, and methodologies adopted by the board.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an urban retail water supplier may use alternative data in calculating the urban water use objective if the supplier demonstrates to the department that the alternative data are equivalent, or superior, in quality and accuracy to the data provided
by the department. The department may provide technical assistance to an urban retail water supplier in evaluating whether the alternative data are appropriate for use in calculating the supplier’s urban water use objective.
10609.22.
(a) An urban retail water supplier shall calculate its actual urban water use no later than July 1, 2022, and by July 1 every year thereafter.(b) The calculation shall be based on the urban retail water supplier’s water use for the previous calendar year.
(c) Each urban water supplier’s urban water use shall be composed of the following:
(1) Aggregate residential water use.
(2) Aggregate outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters in connection with CII
water use.
(3) Aggregate water losses.
(d)Urban retail water suppliers that deliver potable reuse water may reduce the calculation of their actual urban water use by a credit calculated pursuant to this subdivision.
(1)The water use credit shall be the amount of delivered potable reuse water multiplied by a credit factor.
(2)The water use credit factor for 2021 shall be 10 percent.
(3)The water use credit factor for each subsequent year shall be one percentage point less than the credit factor for the previous year, until January 1, 2031, after which no credit factor shall apply.
10609.24.
(a) An urban retail water supplier shall submit a report to the department no later than July 1, 2022, and by July 1 every year thereafter. The report shall include all of the following:(1) The urban water use objective calculated pursuant to Section 10609.20 along with relevant supporting data.
(2) The actual urban water use calculated pursuant to Section 10609.22 along with relevant supporting data.
(3) Documentation of the implementation of the performance measures for CII water use.
(4) A description of the progress made towards meeting the
urban water use objective.
(b) The department shall post the reports and information on its Internet Web site.
(c) The board may issue an information order or conservation order to, or impose civil liability on, an entity or individual for failure to submit a report required by this section.
10609.26.
(a) (1) On and after July 1, 2022, the board may 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 required by this chapter. Informational orders are intended to obtain information on supplier activities, water production, and conservation efforts in order to identify technical assistance needs and assist urban water suppliers in meeting their urban water use objectives.(2) In determining whether to issue an informational order, the board shall consider the degree to which the urban retail water supplier is not
meeting its urban water use objective, information provided in the report required by Section 10609.24, and actions the urban retail water supplier has implemented or will implement in order to help meet the urban water use objective.
(3) The board shall share information received pursuant to this subdivision with the department.
(4) An urban water supplier may request technical assistance from the department. The technical assistance may, to the extent available, include guidance documents, tools, and data.
(b) On and after July 1, 2023, the board may issue a written notice to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective required by this chapter. The written notice may warn the urban retail
water supplier that it is not meeting its urban water use objective described in Section 10609.20 and is not making adequate progress in meeting the urban water use objective, and may request that the urban retail water supplier address areas of concern in its next annual report required by Section 10609.24. In deciding whether to issue a written notice, the board may consider whether the urban retail water supplier has received an informational order, the degree to which the urban retail water supplier is not meeting its urban water use objective, information provided in the report required by Section 10609.24, and actions the urban retail water supplier has implemented or will implement in order to help meet its urban water use objective.
(c) (1) On and after July 1, 2024, the board may issue a conservation
order to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective. A conservation order may consist of, but is not limited to, referral to the department for technical assistance, requirements for education and outreach, requirements for local enforcement, and other efforts to assist urban retail water suppliers in meeting their urban water use objective.
(2) In issuing a conservation order, the board shall identify specific deficiencies in an urban retail water supplier’s progress towards meeting its urban water use objective, and identify specific actions to address the deficiencies.
(3) The board may request that the department provide an urban retail water supplier with technical assistance to support the urban retail water supplier’s actions to
remedy the deficiencies.
(d) A conservation order issued in accordance with this chapter shall not curtail or otherwise limit the exercise of a water right.
10609.28.
The board may issue a regulation or informational order requiring a wholesale water supplier, an urban retail water supplier, or a distributor of a public water supply, as that term is used in Section 350, to provide a monthly report relating to water production, water use, or water conservation.10609.30.
On or before January 10, 2023, the Legislative Analyst shall provide to the appropriate policy committees of both houses of the Legislature and the public a report evaluating the implementation of urban water conservation standards and water use reporting pursuant to this chapter. The board and the department shall provide the Legislative Analyst with the available data to complete this report.(a) The report shall describe all of the following:
(1) The rate at which urban retail water users are complying with the standards, and factors that might facilitate or impede their compliance.
(2) The accuracy of the data and estimates being used to calculate urban water use objectives.
(3) Indications of the economic impacts, if any, of the implementation of this chapter on urban water suppliers and urban water users, including CII water users.
(4) The early indications of how implementing this chapter might impact the efficiency of statewide urban water use.
(5) Recommendations, if any, for improving statewide urban water use efficiency and the standards and practices described in this chapter.
(6) Any
other issues the Legislative Analyst deems appropriate.
10609.32.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the chairperson of the board and the director of the department appear before the appropriate policy committees of both houses of the Legislature on or around January 1, 2025, and report on the implementation of urban water conservation standards and water use reporting pursuant to this chapter. It is the intent of the Legislature that the topics to be covered include all of the following:(a) The rate at which urban retail water users suppliers are complying with the
standards, and factors that might facilitate or impede their compliance.
(b) What enforcement actions have been taken, if any.
(c) The accuracy of the data and estimates being used to calculate urban water use objectives.
(d) Indications of the economic impacts, if any, of the implementation of this chapter on urban water suppliers and urban water users, including CII water users.
(e) An assessment of how implementing this chapter is affecting the efficiency of statewide urban water use.
10609.34.
Notwithstanding Section 15300.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, an action of the board taken under this chapter shall be deemed to be a Class 8 action, within the meaning of Section 15308 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, provided that the action does not involve relaxation of existing water conservation or water use standards.10609.36.
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to determine or alter water rights. Sections 1010 and 1011 apply to water conserved through implementation of this chapter.(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize the board to update or revise water use efficiency standards authorized by this chapter except as explicitly provided in this chapter. Authorization to update the standards beyond that explicitly provided in this chapter shall require separate legislation.