Senate Bill No. 606 CHAPTER 14 An act to amend Sections 350, 377, 1058.5, 1120, 10608.12, 10608.20, 10610.2, 10610.4, 10620, 10621, 10630, 10631, 10631.2, 10635, 10640, 10641, 10642, 10644, 10645, 10650, 10651, 10653, 10654, and 10656 of, to amend, renumber, and add Section 10612 of, to add Sections 10608.35, 10609.20, 10609.22, 10609.24, 10609.26, 10609.28, 10609.30, 10609.32, 10609.34, 10609.36, 10609.38, 10617.5, 10618, 10630.5, 10632.1, 10632.2, 10632.3, and 10657 to, to repeal Section 10631.7 of, and to repeal and add Section 10632 of, the Water Code, relating to water. [ Approved by Governor May 31, 2018. Filed with Secretary of State May 31, 2018. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
SB 606, Hertzberg. Water management planning. (1) Existing law requires the state to achieve a 20% reduction in urban per capita water use in California by December 31, 2020. Existing law requires each urban retail water supplier to develop urban water use targets and an interim urban water use target, as specified. Assembly Bill 1668 of the 2017–18 Regular Session, if enacted, would require the State Water Resources Control Board, in coordination with the Department of Water Resources, to adopt long-term standards for the efficient use of water and would establish specified standards for per capita daily indoor residential water use. The bill would require an urban retail water supplier to calculate an urban water use objective no later than November 1, 2023, and by November 1 every year thereafter, and its actual urban water use by those same dates. The bill would require an urban retail water supplier to submit a report to the department for these purposes by those dates. The bill would authorize the board to issue information orders, written notices, and conservation orders to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to waive these requirements for a period of up to 5 years, as specified. The bill would impose civil liability for a violation of an order or regulation issued pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The bill would also authorize the board to issue a regulation or informational order requiring a wholesale water supplier, urban retail water supplier, or distributor of a public water supply to provide a monthly report relating to water production, water use, or water conservation. (2) Existing law establishes procedures for reconsideration and amendment of specified decisions and orders of the board. Existing law authorizes any party aggrieved by a specified decision or order of the board to file, not later than 30 days from the date of final board action, a petition for writ of mandate for judicial review of the decision or order. This bill would apply these procedures to decisions and orders of the board issued pursuant to the provisions described in paragraph (1), including existing provisions and those added by this bill. (3) Existing law, the Urban Water Management Planning Act, requires every public and private urban water supplier that directly or indirectly provides water for municipal purposes to prepare and adopt an urban water management plan. The act requires an urban water supplier to update its plan once every 5 years on or before December 31 in years ending in 5 and zero, the act requires the submission of a 2020 plan update by July 1, 2021. The act requires an urban water management plan, among other things, to describe the reliability of the water supply and vulnerability to seasonal or climatic shortage, to the extent practicable, and provide data for an average, single-dry, and multiple-dry water years. The act requires that an urban water management plan provide an urban water shortage contingency analysis that includes, among other things, an estimate of the minimum water supply available during each of the next 3 water years based on the driest 3-year historic sequence for the agency’s water supply. This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would require an urban water management plan to be updated on or before July 1, in years ending in 6 and one, incorporating updated and new information from the 5 years preceding the plan update. The bill would require each plan to include a simple lay description of specified information to provide a general understanding of the agency’s plan. The bill would require an urban water management plan to contain a drought risk assessment, as defined, that examines water shortage risks for a drought lasting the next 5 consecutive years. The bill would require an urban water supplier to prepare, adopt, and periodically review a water shortage contingency plan, as prescribed, and as part of its urban water management plan. The bill would require a water shortage contingency plan to consist of certain elements, including, among other things, annual water supply and demand assessment procedures, standard water shortage levels, shortage response actions, and communication protocols and procedures. The bill would require an urban water supplier to make the water shortage contingency plan available to its customers and any city or county within which it provides water supplies no later than 30 days after adoption. The bill would require an urban water supplier to conduct an annual water supply and demand assessment and submit an annual water shortage assessment report to the department with information for anticipated shortage, triggered shortage response actions, compliance and enforcement actions, and communication actions consistent with the supplier’s water shortage contingency plan by June 1 of each year. The bill would require an urban water supplier to follow, where feasible and appropriate, the procedures and implement determined shortage response actions in its water shortage contingency plan. (4) The act requires an urban water supplier to submit copies of its urban water management plan and copies of amendments or changes to the plan to certain entities, including the department, no later than 30 days after adoption, as prescribed. The act requires the department to prepare and submit a report summarizing the status of plans adopted pursuant to the act to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2022, for the 2020 plan, and on or before December 31 in the years ending in 6 and one thereafter, and to provide a copy of the report to each urban water supplier that has submitted its plan to the department. This bill would require an urban water supplier, if it revises its water shortage contingency plan, to submit to the department a copy of its water shortage contingency plan no later than 30 days after adoption. The bill would require an urban water supplier regulated by the Public Utilities Commission to include its most recent urban water management plan and water shortage contingency plan as part of its general rate case filings. The bill would require the department to prepare and submit the report about plans adopted pursuant to the act to the Legislature on or before July 1 in the years ending in 7 and 2. The bill would require the department to prepare and submit to the board, on or before June 1 of each year, a report summarizing the submitted water supply and demand assessment results along with appropriate reported water shortage conditions developed by the department and information regarding various shortage response actions implemented as a result of water supply and demand assessments, as prescribed. (5) Existing law makes an urban water supplier that does not prepare, adopt, and submit its urban water management plan to the department as prescribed ineligible to receive certain water grant and loan funding. This bill would instead make an urban water supplier ineligible to receive any water grant or loan unless the urban water supplier complies with the requirements relating to urban water management plans. (6) Existing law authorizes the governing body of a distributor of a public water supply to declare a water shortage emergency condition to prevail within the area served by the distributor whenever it finds and determines that the ordinary demands and requirements of water consumers cannot be satisfied without depleting the water supply of the distributor to the extent that there would be insufficient water for human consumption, sanitation, and fire protection. This bill would instead require the governing body of a distributor of a public water supply to declare a water shortage emergency condition whenever it finds and determines the above-described circumstances. The bill would require an urban water supplier to coordinate with any city or county within which it provides water supply services for a possible proclamation of a local emergency. (7) This bill would make its operation contingent on the enactment of AB 1668 of the 2017–18 Regular Session.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 350 of the Water Code is amended to read:
350.
The governing body of a distributor of a public water supply, whether publicly or privately owned and including a mutual water company, shall declare a water shortage emergency condition to prevail within the area served by such distributor whenever it finds and determines that the ordinary demands and requirements of water consumers cannot be satisfied without depleting the water supply of the distributor to the extent that there would be insufficient water for human consumption, sanitation, and fire protection.
SEC. 2.
Section 377 of the Water Code is amended to read:
377.
(a) From and after the publication or posting of any ordinance or resolution pursuant to Section 376, a violation of a requirement of a water conservation program adopted pursuant to Section 376 is a misdemeanor. A person convicted under this subdivision shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 30 days, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both. (b) A court or public entity may hold a person civilly liable in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a violation of any of the following: (1) An ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to Section 376. (2) A regulation adopted by the board under Section 1058.5 or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 10609) of Part 2.55 of Division 6, unless the board regulation provides that it cannot be enforced under this section or provides for a lesser applicable maximum penalty. (c) Commencing on the 31st day after the public entity notified a person of a violation described in subdivision (b), the person additionally may be civilly liable in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) plus five hundred dollars ($500) for each additional day on which the violation continues. (d) Remedies prescribed in this section are cumulative and not alternative, except that no liability shall be recoverable under this section for any violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) if the board has filed a complaint pursuant to Section 1846 alleging the same violation. (e) A public entity may administratively impose the civil liability described in subdivisions (b) and (c) after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing. The public entity shall initiate a proceeding under this subdivision by a complaint issued pursuant to Section 377.5. The public entity shall issue the complaint at least 30 days before the hearing on the complaint and the complaint shall state the basis for the proposed civil liability order. (f) (1) In determining the amount of civil liability to assess, a court or public entity shall take into consideration all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the nature and persistence of the violation, the extent of the harm caused by the violation, the length of time over which the violation occurs, and any corrective action taken by the violator. (2) The civil liability calculated pursuant to paragraph (1) for the first violation of subdivision (b) by a residential water user shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) except in extraordinary situations where the court or public entity finds all of the following: (A) The residential user had actual notice of the requirement found to be violated. (B) The conduct was intentional. (C) The amount of water involved was substantial. (g) Civil liability imposed pursuant to this section shall be paid to the public entity and expended solely for the purposes of this chapter. (h) An order setting administrative civil liability shall become effective and final upon issuance of the order and payment shall be made. Judicial review of any final order shall be pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (i) In addition to the remedies prescribed in this section, a public entity may enforce water use limitations established by an ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to this chapter, or as otherwise authorized by law, by a volumetric penalty in an amount established by the public entity.
SEC. 3.
Section 1058.5 of the Water Code is amended to read:
1058.5.
(a) This section applies to any emergency regulation adopted by the board for which the board makes both of the following findings: (1) The emergency regulation is adopted to prevent the waste, unreasonable use, unreasonable method of use, or unreasonable method of diversion, of water, to promote water recycling or water conservation, to require curtailment of diversions when water is not available under the diverter’s priority of right, or in furtherance of any of the foregoing, to require reporting of diversion or use or the preparation of monitoring reports. (2) The emergency regulation is adopted in response to conditions which exist, or are threatened, in a critically dry year immediately preceded by two or more consecutive below normal, dry, or critically dry years or during a period for which the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency under the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code) based on drought conditions. (b) Notwithstanding Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, any findings of emergency adopted by the board, in connection with the adoption of an emergency regulation under this section, are not subject to review by the Office of Administrative Law. (c) An emergency regulation adopted by the board under this section may remain in effect for up to one year, as determined by the board, and is deemed repealed immediately upon a finding by the board that due to changed conditions it is no longer necessary for the regulation to remain in effect. An emergency regulation adopted by the board under this section may be renewed if the board determines that the conditions specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) are still in effect. (d) In addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties, any person or entity who violates a regulation adopted by the board pursuant to this section is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each day in which the violation occurs. (e) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 1551 or subdivision (e) of Section 1848, a civil liability imposed under Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 1825) of Part 2 of Division 2 by the board or a court for a violation of an emergency conservation regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall be deposited, and separately accounted for, in the Water Rights Fund. Funds deposited in accordance with this subdivision shall be available, upon appropriation, for water conservation activities and programs. (2) For purposes of this subdivision, an “emergency conservation regulation” means an emergency regulation that requires an end user of water, a water retailer, or a water wholesaler to conserve water or report to the board on water conservation. Water conservation includes restrictions or limitations on particular uses of water or a reduction in the amount of water used or served, but does not include curtailment of diversions when water is not available under the diverter’s priority of right or reporting requirements related to curtailments.
SEC. 4.
Section 1120 of the Water Code is amended to read:
1120.
This chapter applies to any decision or order issued under this part or Section 275, Part 2 (commencing with Section 1200), Part 2 (commencing with Section 10500) of Division 6, Part 2.55 (commencing with Section 10608) of Division 6, or Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 10735) of Part 2.74 of Division 6, Article 7 (commencing with Section 13550) of Chapter 7 of Division 7, or the public trust doctrine.
SEC. 5.
Section 10608.12 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10608.12.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the construction of this part: (a) “Agricultural water supplier” means a water supplier, either publicly or privately owned, providing water to 10,000 or more irrigated acres, excluding recycled water. “Agricultural water supplier” includes a supplier or contractor for water, regardless of the basis of right, that distributes or sells water for ultimate resale to customers. “Agricultural water supplier” does not include the department. (b) “Base daily per capita water use” means any of the following: (1) The urban retail water supplier’s estimate of its average gross water use, reported in gallons per capita per day and calculated over a continuous 10-year period ending no earlier than December 31, 2004, and no later than December 31, 2010. (2) For an urban retail water supplier that meets at least 10 percent of its 2008 measured retail water demand through recycled water that is delivered within the service area of an urban retail water supplier or its urban wholesale water supplier, the urban retail water supplier may extend the calculation described in paragraph (1) up to an additional five years to a maximum of a continuous 15-year period ending no earlier than December 31, 2004, and no later than December 31, 2010. (3) For the purposes of Section 10608.22, the urban retail water supplier’s estimate of its average gross water use, reported in gallons per capita per day and calculated over a continuous five-year period ending no earlier than December 31, 2007, and no later than December 31, 2010. (c) “Baseline commercial, industrial, and institutional water use” means an urban retail water supplier’s base daily per capita water use for commercial, industrial, and institutional users. (d) “CII water use” means water used by commercial water users, industrial water users, institutional water users, and large landscape water users. (e) “Commercial water user” means a water user that provides or distributes a product or service. (f) “Compliance daily per capita water use” means the gross water use during the final year of the reporting period, reported in gallons per capita per day. (g) “Disadvantaged community” means a community with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income. (h) “Gross water use” means the total volume of water, whether treated or untreated, entering the distribution system of an urban retail water supplier, excluding all of the following: (1) Recycled water that is delivered within the service area of an urban retail water supplier or its urban wholesale water supplier. (2) The net volume of water that the urban retail water supplier places into long-term storage. (3) The volume of water the urban retail water supplier conveys for use by another urban water supplier. (4) The volume of water delivered for agricultural use, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (f) of Section 10608.24. (i) “Industrial water user” means a water user that is primarily a manufacturer or processor of materials as defined by the North American Industry Classification System code sectors 31 to 33, inclusive, or an entity that is a water user primarily engaged in research and development. (j) “Institutional water user” means a water user dedicated to public service. This type of user includes, among other users, higher education institutions, schools, courts, churches, hospitals, government facilities, and nonprofit research institutions. (k) “Interim urban water use target” means the midpoint between the urban retail water supplier’s base daily per capita water use and the urban retail water supplier’s urban water use target for 2020. (l) “Large landscape” means a nonresidential landscape as described in the performance measures for CII water use adopted pursuant to Section 10609.10. (m) “Locally cost effective” means that the present value of the local benefits of implementing an agricultural efficiency water management practice is greater than or equal to the present value of the local cost of implementing that measure. (n) “Performance measures” means actions to be taken by urban retail water suppliers that will result in increased water use efficiency by CII water users. Performance measures may include, but are not limited to, educating CII water users on best management practices, conducting water use audits, and preparing water management plans. Performance measures do not include process water. (o) “Potable reuse” means direct potable reuse, indirect potable reuse for groundwater recharge, and reservoir water augmentation as those terms are defined in Section 13561. (p) “Process water” means water used by industrial water users for producing a product or product content or water used for research and development. Process water includes, but is not limited to, continuous manufacturing processes, and water used for testing, cleaning, and maintaining equipment. Water used to cool machinery or buildings used in the manufacturing process or necessary to maintain product quality or chemical characteristics for product manufacturing or control rooms, data centers, laboratories, clean rooms, and other industrial facility units that are integral to the manufacturing or research and development process is process water. Water used in the manufacturing process that is necessary for complying with local, state, and federal health and safety laws, and is not incidental water, is process water. Process water does not mean incidental water uses. (q) “Recycled water” means recycled water, as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 13050. (r) “Regional water resources management” means sources of supply resulting from watershed-based planning for sustainable local water reliability or any of the following alternative sources of water: (1) The capture and reuse of stormwater or rainwater. (2) The use of recycled water. (3) The desalination of brackish groundwater. (4) The conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater in a manner that is consistent with the safe yield of the groundwater basin. (s) “Reporting period” means the years for which an urban retail water supplier reports compliance with the urban water use targets. (t) “Urban retail water supplier” means a water supplier, either publicly or privately owned, that directly provides potable municipal water to more than 3,000 end users or that supplies more than 3,000 acre-feet of potable water annually at retail for municipal purposes. (u) “Urban water use objective” means an estimate of aggregate efficient water use for the previous year based on adopted water use efficiency standards and local service area characteristics for that year, as described in Section 10609.20. (v) “Urban water use target” means the urban retail water supplier’s targeted future daily per capita water use. 
“Urban wholesale water supplier,” means a water supplier, either publicly or privately owned, that provides more than 3,000 acre-feet of water annually at wholesale for potable municipal purposes.
SEC. 6.
Section 10608.20 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10608.20.
(a) (1) Each urban retail water supplier shall develop urban water use targets and an interim urban water use target by July 1, 2011. Urban retail water suppliers may elect to determine and report progress toward achieving these targets on an individual or regional basis, as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 10608.28, and may determine the targets on a fiscal year or calendar year basis. (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the urban water use targets described in paragraph (1) cumulatively result in a 20-percent reduction from the baseline daily per capita water use by December 31, 2020. (b) An urban retail water supplier shall adopt one of the following methods for determining its urban water use target pursuant to subdivision (a): (1) Eighty percent of the urban retail water supplier’s baseline per capita daily water use. (2) The per capita daily water use that is estimated using the sum of the following performance standards: (A) For indoor residential water use, 55 gallons per capita daily water use as a provisional standard. Upon completion of the department’s 2016 report to the Legislature pursuant to Section 10608.42, this standard may be adjusted by the Legislature by statute. (B) For landscape irrigated through dedicated or residential meters or connections, water efficiency equivalent to the standards of the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance set forth in Chapter 2.7 (commencing with Section 490) of Division 2 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations, as in effect the later of the year of the landscape’s installation or 1992. An urban retail water supplier using the approach specified in this subparagraph shall use satellite imagery, site visits, or other best available technology to develop an accurate estimate of landscaped areas. (C) For commercial, industrial, and institutional uses, a 10-percent reduction in water use from the baseline commercial, industrial, and institutional water use by 2020. (3) Ninety-five percent of the applicable state hydrologic region target, as set forth in the state’s draft 20×2020 Water Conservation Plan (dated April 30, 2009). If the service area of an urban water supplier includes more than one hydrologic region, the supplier shall apportion its service area to each region based on population or area. (4) A method that shall be identified and developed by the department, through a public process, and reported to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2010. The method developed by the department shall identify per capita targets that cumulatively result in a statewide 20-percent reduction in urban daily per capita water use by December 31, 2020. In developing urban daily per capita water use targets, the department shall do all of the following: (A) Consider climatic differences within the state. (B) Consider population density differences within the state. (C) Provide flexibility to communities and regions in meeting the targets. (D) Consider different levels of per capita water use according to plant water needs in different regions. (E) Consider different levels of commercial, industrial, and institutional water use in different regions of the state. (F) Avoid placing an undue hardship on communities that have implemented conservation measures or taken actions to keep per capita water use low. (c) If the department adopts a regulation pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) that results in a requirement that an urban retail water supplier achieve a reduction in daily per capita water use that is greater than 20 percent by December 31, 2020, an urban retail water supplier that adopted the method described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) may limit its urban water use target to a reduction of not more than 20 percent by December 31, 2020, by adopting the method described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). (d) The department shall update the method described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) and report to the Legislature by December 31, 2014. An urban retail water supplier that adopted the method described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) may adopt a new urban daily per capita water use target pursuant to this updated method. (e) An urban retail water supplier shall include in its urban water management plan due in 2010 pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610) the baseline daily per capita water use, urban water use target, interim urban water use target, and compliance daily per capita water use, along with the bases for determining those estimates, including references to supporting data. (f) When calculating per capita values for the purposes of this chapter, an urban retail water supplier shall determine population using federal, state, and local population reports and projections. (g) An urban retail water supplier may update its 2020 urban water use target in its 2015 urban water management plan required pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610). (h) (1) The department, through a public process and in consultation with the California Urban Water Conservation Council, shall develop technical methodologies and criteria for the consistent implementation of this part, including, but not limited to, both of the following: (A) Methodologies for calculating base daily per capita water use, baseline commercial, industrial, and institutional water use, compliance daily per capita water use, gross water use, service area population, indoor residential water use, and landscaped area water use. (B) Criteria for adjustments pursuant to subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 10608.24. (2) The department shall post the methodologies and criteria developed pursuant to this subdivision on its Internet Web site, and make written copies available, by October 1, 2010. An urban retail water supplier shall use the methods developed by the department in compliance with this part. (i) (1) The department shall adopt regulations for implementation of the provisions relating to process water in accordance with Section 10608.12, subdivision (e) of Section 10608.24, and subdivision (d) of Section 10608.26. (2) The initial adoption of a regulation authorized by this subdivision is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted for that purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. After the initial adoption of an emergency regulation pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall not request approval from the Office of Administrative Law to readopt the regulation as an emergency regulation pursuant to Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. (j) (1) An urban retail water supplier is granted an extension to July 1, 2011, for adoption of an urban water management plan pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610) due in 2010 to allow the use of technical methodologies developed by the department pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (h). An urban retail water supplier that adopts an urban water management plan due in 2010 that does not use the methodologies developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (h) shall amend the plan by July 1, 2011, to comply with this part. (2) An urban wholesale water supplier whose urban water management plan prepared pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610) was due and not submitted in 2010 is granted an extension to July 1, 2011, to permit coordination between an urban wholesale water supplier and urban retail water suppliers.
SEC. 7.
Section 10608.35 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10608.35.
(a) The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and make a recommendation to the Legislature, by January 1, 2020, on the feasibility of developing and enacting water loss reporting requirements for urban wholesale water suppliers. (b) The studies and investigations shall include an evaluation of the suitability of applying the processes and requirements of Section 10608.34 to urban wholesale water suppliers. (c) In conducting necessary studies and investigations and developing its recommendation, the department shall solicit broad public participation from stakeholders and other interested persons.
SEC. 8.
Section 10609.20 is added to the Water Code, immediately following Section 10609.18, to read:
10609.20.
(a) Each urban retail water supplier shall calculate its urban water use objective no later than November 1, 2023, and by November 1 every year thereafter. (b) The calculation shall be based on the urban retail water supplier’s water use conditions for the previous calendar or fiscal year. (c) Each urban water supplier’s urban water use objective shall be composed of the sum 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) (1) An urban retail water supplier that delivers water from a groundwater basin, reservoir, or other source that is augmented by potable reuse water may adjust its urban water use objective by a bonus incentive calculated pursuant to this subdivision. (2) The water use objective bonus incentive shall be the volume of its potable reuse delivered to residential water users and to landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters in connection with CII water use, on an acre-foot basis. (3) The bonus incentive pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be limited in accordance with one of the following: (A) The bonus incentive shall not exceed 15 percent of the urban water supplier’s water use objective for any potable reuse water produced at an existing facility. (B) The bonus incentive shall not exceed 10 percent of the urban water supplier’s water use objective for any potable reuse water produced at any facility that is not an existing facility. (4) For purposes of this subdivision, “existing facility” means a facility that meets all of the following: (A) The facility has a certified environmental impact report, mitigated negative declaration, or negative declaration on or before January 1, 2019. (B) The facility begins producing and delivering potable reuse water on or before January 1, 2022. (C) The facility uses microfiltration and reverse osmosis technologies to produce the potable reuse water. (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. The department shall provide data to the urban water supplier at a level of detail sufficient to allow the urban water supplier to verify its accuracy at the parcel level. (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.
SEC. 9.
Section 10609.22 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10609.22.
(a) An urban retail water supplier shall calculate its actual urban water use no later than November 1, 2023, and by November 1 every year thereafter. (b) The calculation shall be based on the urban retail water supplier’s water use for the previous calendar or fiscal year. (c) Each urban water supplier’s urban water use shall be composed of the sum 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.
SEC. 10.
Section 10609.24 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10609.24.
(a) An urban retail water supplier shall submit a report to the department no later than November 1, 2023, and by November 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.
SEC. 11.
Section 10609.26 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10609.26.
(a) (1) On and after November 1, 2023, 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 November 1, 2024, 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 November 1, 2025, 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 may include requiring actions intended to increase water-use efficiency, but shall not curtail or otherwise limit the exercise of a water right, nor shall it require the imposition of civil liability pursuant to Section 377.
SEC. 12.
Section 10609.28 is added to the Water Code, to read:
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.
SEC. 13.
Section 10609.30 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10609.30.
On or before January 10, 2024, 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 the water use efficiency 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 frequency of use of the bonus incentive, the volume of water associated with the bonus incentive, value to urban water suppliers of the bonus incentive, and any implications of the use of the bonus incentive on water use efficiency. (5) The early indications of how implementing this chapter might impact the efficiency of statewide urban water use. (6) Recommendations, if any, for improving statewide urban water use efficiency and the standards and practices described in this chapter. (7) Any other issues the Legislative Analyst deems appropriate.
SEC. 14.
Section 10609.32 is added to the Water Code, to read:
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, 2026, and report on the implementation of the water use efficiency 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 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) The frequency of use of the bonus incentive, the volume of water associated with the bonus incentive, value to urban water suppliers of the bonus incentive, and any implications of the use of the bonus incentive on water use efficiency. (f) An assessment of how implementing this chapter is affecting the efficiency of statewide urban water use.
SEC. 15.
Section 10609.34 is added to the Water Code, to read:
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.
SEC. 16.
Section 10609.36 is added to the Water Code, to read:
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. (c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or otherwise affect the use of recycled water as seawater barriers for groundwater salinity management.
SEC. 17.
Section 10609.38 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10609.38.
The board may waive the requirements of this chapter for a period of up to five years for any urban retail water supplier whose water deliveries are significantly affected by changes in water use as a result of damage from a disaster such as an earthquake or fire. In establishing the period of a waiver, the board shall take into consideration the breadth of the damage and the time necessary for the damaged areas to recover from the disaster.
SEC. 18.
Section 10610.2 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10610.2.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The waters of the state are a limited and renewable resource subject to ever-increasing demands. (2) The conservation and efficient use of urban water supplies are of statewide concern; however, the planning for that use and the implementation of those plans can best be accomplished at the local level. (3) A long-term, reliable supply of water is essential to protect the productivity of California’s businesses and economic climate, and increasing long-term water conservation among Californians, improving water use efficiency within the state’s communities and agricultural production, and strengthening local and regional drought planning are critical to California’s resilience to drought and climate change. (4) As part of its long-range planning activities, every urban water supplier should make every effort to ensure the appropriate level of reliability in its water service sufficient to meet the needs of its various categories of customers during normal, dry, and multiple dry water years now and into the foreseeable future, and every urban water supplier should collaborate closely with local land-use authorities to ensure water demand forecasts are consistent with current land-use planning. (5) Public health issues have been raised over a number of contaminants that have been identified in certain local and imported water supplies. (6) Implementing effective water management strategies, including groundwater storage projects and recycled water projects, may require specific water quality and salinity targets for meeting groundwater basins water quality objectives and promoting beneficial use of recycled water. (7) Water quality regulations are becoming an increasingly important factor in water agencies’ selection of raw water sources, treatment alternatives, and modifications to existing treatment facilities. (8) Changes in drinking water quality standards may also impact the usefulness of water supplies and may ultimately impact supply reliability. (9) The quality of source supplies can have a significant impact on water management strategies and supply reliability. (b) This part is intended to provide assistance to water agencies in carrying out their long-term resource planning responsibilities to ensure adequate water supplies to meet existing and future demands for water.
SEC. 19.
Section 10610.4 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10610.4.
The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the state as follows: (a) The management of urban water demands and efficient use of water shall be actively pursued to protect both the people of the state and their water resources. (b) The management of urban water demands and efficient use of urban water supplies shall be a guiding criterion in public decisions. (c) Urban water suppliers shall be required to develop water management plans to achieve the efficient use of available supplies and strengthen local drought planning.
SEC. 20.
Section 10612 of the Water Code is amended and renumbered to read:
10611.3.
“Customer” means a purchaser of water from a water supplier who uses the water for municipal purposes, including residential, commercial, governmental, and industrial uses.
SEC. 21.
Section 10612 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10612.
“Drought risk assessment” means a method that examines water shortage risks based on the driest five-year historic sequence for the agency’s water supply, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 10635.
SEC. 22.
Section 10617.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10617.5.
“Water shortage contingency plan” means a document that incorporates the provisions detailed in subdivision (a) of Section 10632 and is subsequently adopted by an urban water supplier pursuant to this article.
SEC. 23.
Section 10618 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10618.
“Water supply and demand assessment” means a method that looks at current year and one or more dry year supplies and demands for determining water shortage risks, as described in Section 10632.1.
SEC. 24.
Section 10620 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10620.
(a) Every urban water supplier shall prepare and adopt an urban water management plan in the manner set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 10640). (b) Every person that becomes an urban water supplier shall adopt an urban water management plan within one year after it has become an urban water supplier. (c) An urban water supplier indirectly providing water shall not include planning elements in its water management plan as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 10630) that would be applicable to urban water suppliers or public agencies directly providing water, or to their customers, without the consent of those suppliers or public agencies. (d) (1) An urban water supplier may satisfy the requirements of this part by participation in areawide, regional, watershed, or basinwide urban water management planning where those plans will reduce preparation costs and contribute to the achievement of conservation, efficient water use, and improved local drought resilience. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), each urban water supplier shall develop its own water shortage contingency plan, but an urban water supplier may incorporate, collaborate, and otherwise share information with other urban water suppliers or other governing entities participating in an areawide, regional, watershed, or basinwide urban water management plan, an agricultural management plan, or groundwater sustainability plan development. (3) Each urban water supplier shall coordinate the preparation of its plan with other appropriate agencies in the area, including other water suppliers that share a common source, water management agencies, and relevant public agencies, to the extent practicable. (e) The urban water supplier may prepare the plan with its own staff, by contract, or in cooperation with other governmental agencies. (f) An urban water supplier shall describe in the plan water management tools and options used by that entity that will maximize resources and minimize the need to import water from other regions.
SEC. 25.
Section 10621 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10621.
(a) Each urban water supplier shall update its plan at least once every five years on or before July 1, in years ending in six and one, incorporating updated and new information from the five years preceding each update. (b) Every urban water supplier required to prepare a plan pursuant to this part shall, at least 60 days before the public hearing on the plan required by Section 10642, notify any city or county within which the supplier provides water supplies that the urban water supplier will be reviewing the plan and considering amendments or changes to the plan. The urban water supplier may consult with, and obtain comments from, any city or county that receives notice pursuant to this subdivision. (c) An urban water supplier regulated by the Public Utilities Commission shall include its most recent plan and water shortage contingency plan as part of the supplier’s general rate case filings. (d) The amendments to, or changes in, the plan shall be adopted and filed in the manner set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 10640). (e) Each urban water supplier shall update and submit its 2015 plan to the department by July 1, 2016. (f) (1) Each urban water supplier shall update and submit its 2020 plan to the department by July 1, 2021. (2) By January 1, 2024, each urban retail water supplier shall adopt and submit to the department a supplement to the adopted 2020 plan that includes information required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 10631. This supplement is not an update or an amendment to the plan and, therefore, an urban water supplier is not required to comply with the public notice, hearing, and adoption requirements of Section 10642 before submitting the information to the department.
SEC. 26.
Section 10630 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10630.
It is the intention of the Legislature, in enacting this part, to permit levels of water management planning commensurate with the numbers of customers served and the volume of water supplied, while accounting for impacts from climate change.
SEC. 27.
Section 10630.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10630.5.
Each plan shall include a simple lay description of how much water the agency has on a reliable basis, how much it needs for the foreseeable future, what the agency’s strategy is for meeting its water needs, the challenges facing the agency, and any other information necessary to provide a general understanding of the agency’s plan.
SEC. 28.
Section 10631 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10631.
A plan shall be adopted in accordance with this chapter that shall do all of the following: (a) Describe the service area of the supplier, including current and projected population, climate, and other social, economic, and demographic factors affecting the supplier’s water management planning. The projected population estimates shall be based upon data from the state, regional, or local service agency population projections within the service area of the urban water supplier and shall be in five-year increments to 20 years or as far as data is available. The description shall include the current and projected land uses within the existing or anticipated service area affecting the supplier’s water management planning. Urban water suppliers shall coordinate with local or regional land use authorities to determine the most appropriate land use information, including, where appropriate, land use information obtained from local or regional land use authorities, as developed pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code. (b) Identify and quantify, to the extent practicable, the existing and planned sources of water available to the supplier over the same five-year increments described in subdivision (a), providing supporting and related information, including all of the following: (1) A detailed discussion of anticipated supply availability under a normal water year, single dry year, and droughts lasting at least five years, as well as more frequent and severe periods of drought, as described in the drought risk assessment. For each source of water supply, consider any information pertinent to the reliability analysis conducted pursuant to Section 10635, including changes in supply due to climate change. (2) When multiple sources of water supply are identified, a description of the management of each supply in correlation with the other identified supplies. (3) For any planned sources of water supply, a description of the measures that are being undertaken to acquire and develop those water supplies. (4) If groundwater is identified as an existing or planned source of water available to the supplier, all of the following information: (A) The current version of any groundwater sustainability plan or alternative adopted pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720), any groundwater management plan adopted by the urban water supplier, including plans adopted pursuant to Part 2.75 (commencing with Section 10750), or any other specific authorization for groundwater management for basins underlying the urban water supplier’s service area. (B) A description of any groundwater basin or basins from which the urban water supplier pumps groundwater. For basins that a court or the board has adjudicated the rights to pump groundwater, a copy of the order or decree adopted by the court or the board and a description of the amount of groundwater the urban water supplier has the legal right to pump under the order or decree. For a basin that has not been adjudicated, information as to whether the department has identified the basin as a high- or medium-priority basin in the most current official departmental bulletin that characterizes the condition of the groundwater basin, and a detailed description of the efforts being undertaken by the urban water supplier to coordinate with groundwater sustainability agencies or groundwater management agencies listed in subdivision (c) of Section 10723 to maintain or achieve sustainable groundwater conditions in accordance with a groundwater sustainability plan or alternative adopted pursuant to Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720). (C) A detailed description and analysis of the location, amount, and sufficiency of groundwater pumped by the urban water supplier for the past five years. The description and analysis shall be based on information that is reasonably available, including, but not limited to, historic use records. (D) A detailed description and analysis of the amount and location of groundwater that is projected to be pumped by the urban water supplier. The description and analysis shall be based on information that is reasonably available, including, but not limited to, historic use records. (c) Describe the opportunities for exchanges or transfers of water on a short-term or long-term basis. (d) (1) For an urban retail water supplier, quantify, to the extent records are available, past and current water use, over the same five-year increments described in subdivision (a), and projected water use, based upon information developed pursuant to subdivision (a), identifying the uses among water use sectors, including, but not necessarily limited to, all of the following: (A) Single-family residential. (B) Multifamily. (C) Commercial. (D) Industrial. (E) Institutional and governmental. (F) Landscape. (G) Sales to other agencies. (H) Saline water intrusion barriers, groundwater recharge, or conjunctive use, or any combination thereof. (I) Agricultural. (J) Distribution system water loss. (2) The water use projections shall be in the same five-year increments described in subdivision (a). (3) (A) The distribution system water loss shall be quantified for each of the five years preceding the plan update, in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to Section 10608.34. (B) The distribution system water loss quantification shall be reported in accordance with a worksheet approved or developed by the department through a public process. The water loss quantification worksheet shall be based on the water system balance methodology developed by the American Water Works Association. (C) In the plan due July 1, 2021, and in each update thereafter, data shall be included to show whether the urban retail water supplier met the distribution loss standards enacted by the board pursuant to Section 10608.34. (4) (A) Water use projections, where available, shall display and account for the water savings estimated to result from adopted codes, standards, ordinances, or transportation and land use plans identified by the urban water supplier, as applicable to the service area. (B) To the extent that an urban water supplier reports the information described in subparagraph (A), an urban water supplier shall do both of the following: (i) Provide citations of the various codes, standards, ordinances, or transportation and land use plans utilized in making the projections. (ii) Indicate the extent that the water use projections consider savings from codes, standards, ordinances, or transportation and land use plans. Water use projections that do not account for these water savings shall be noted of that fact. (e) Provide a description of the supplier’s water demand management measures. This description shall include all of the following: (1) (A) For an urban retail water supplier, as defined in Section 10608.12, a narrative description that addresses the nature and extent of each water demand management measure implemented over the past five years. The narrative shall describe the water demand management measures that the supplier plans to implement to achieve its water use targets pursuant to Section 10608.20. (B) For the supplement required of urban retail water suppliers by paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 10621, 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, 2027, pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 10609) of Part 2.55. (C) The narrative pursuant to this paragraph shall include descriptions of the following water demand management measures: (i) Water waste prevention ordinances. (ii) Metering. (iii) Conservation pricing. (iv) Public education and outreach. (v) Programs to assess and manage distribution system real loss. (vi) Water conservation program coordination and staffing support. (vii) Other demand management measures that have a significant impact on water use as measured in gallons per capita per day, including innovative measures, if implemented. (2) For an urban wholesale water supplier, as defined in Section 10608.12, a narrative description of the items in clauses (ii), (iv), (vi), and (vii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), and a narrative description of its distribution system asset management and wholesale supplier assistance programs. (f) Include a description of all water supply projects and water supply programs that may be undertaken by the urban water supplier to meet the total projected water use, as established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10635. The urban water supplier shall include a detailed description of expected future projects and programs that the urban water supplier may implement to increase the amount of the water supply available to the urban water supplier in normal and single-dry water years and for a period of drought lasting five consecutive water years. The description shall identify specific projects and include a description of the increase in water supply that is expected to be available from each project. The description shall include an estimate with regard to the implementation timeline for each project or program. (g) Describe the opportunities for development of desalinated water, including, but not limited to, ocean water, brackish water, and groundwater, as a long-term supply. (h) An urban water supplier that relies upon a wholesale agency for a source of water shall provide the wholesale agency with water use projections from that agency for that source of water in five-year increments to 20 years or as far as data is available. The wholesale agency shall provide information to the urban water supplier for inclusion in the urban water supplier’s plan that identifies and quantifies, to the extent practicable, the existing and planned sources of water as required by subdivision (b), available from the wholesale agency to the urban water supplier over the same five-year increments, and during various water-year types in accordance with subdivision (f). An urban water supplier may rely upon water supply information provided by the wholesale agency in fulfilling the plan informational requirements of subdivisions (b) and (f).
SEC. 29.
Section 10631.2 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10631.2.
(a) In addition to the requirements of Section 10631, an urban water management plan shall include any of the following information that the urban water supplier can readily obtain: (1) An estimate of the amount of energy used to extract or divert water supplies. (2) An estimate of the amount of energy used to convey water supplies to the water treatment plants or distribution systems. (3) An estimate of the amount of energy used to treat water supplies. (4) An estimate of the amount of energy used to distribute water supplies through its distribution systems. (5) An estimate of the amount of energy used for treated water supplies in comparison to the amount used for nontreated water supplies. (6) An estimate of the amount of energy used to place water into or withdraw from storage. (7) Any other energy-related information the urban water supplier deems appropriate. (b) The department shall include in its guidance for the preparation of urban water management plans a methodology for the voluntary calculation or estimation of the energy intensity of urban water systems. The department may consider studies and calculations conducted by the Public Utilities Commission in developing the methodology. (c) The Legislature finds and declares that energy use is only one factor in water supply planning and shall not be considered independently of other factors.
SEC. 30.
Section 10631.7 of the Water Code is repealed.
SEC. 31.
Section 10632 of the Water Code is repealed.
SEC. 32.
Section 10632 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10632.
(a) Every urban water supplier shall prepare and adopt a water shortage contingency plan as part of its urban water management plan that consists of each of the following elements: (1) The analysis of water supply reliability conducted pursuant to Section 10635. (2) The procedures used in conducting an annual water supply and demand assessment that include, at a minimum, both of the following: (A) The written decisionmaking process that an urban water supplier will use each year to determine its water supply reliability. (B) The key data inputs and assessment methodology used to evaluate the urban water supplier’s water supply reliability for the current year and one dry year, including all of the following: (i) Current year unconstrained demand, considering weather, growth, and other influencing factors, such as policies to manage current supplies to meet demand objectives in future years, as applicable. (ii) Current year available supply, considering hydrological and regulatory conditions in the current year and one dry year. The annual supply and demand assessment may consider more than one dry year solely at the discretion of the urban water supplier. (iii) Existing infrastructure capabilities and plausible constraints. (iv) A defined set of locally applicable evaluation criteria that are consistently relied upon for each annual water supply and demand assessment. (v) A description and quantification of each source of water supply. (3) (A) Six standard water shortage levels corresponding to progressive ranges of up to 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 percent shortages and greater than 50 percent shortage. Urban water suppliers shall define these shortage levels based on the suppliers’ water supply conditions, including percentage reductions in water supply, changes in groundwater levels, changes in surface elevation or level of subsidence, or other changes in hydrological or other local conditions indicative of the water supply available for use. Shortage levels shall also apply to catastrophic interruption of water supplies, including, but not limited to, a regional power outage, an earthquake, and other potential emergency events. (B) An urban water supplier with an existing water shortage contingency plan that uses different water shortage levels may comply with the requirement in subparagraph (A) by developing and including a cross-reference relating its existing categories to the six standard water shortage levels. (4) Shortage response actions that align with the defined shortage levels and include, at a minimum, all of the following: (A) Locally appropriate supply augmentation actions. (B) Locally appropriate demand reduction actions to adequately respond to shortages. (C) Locally appropriate operational changes. (D) Additional, mandatory prohibitions against specific water use practices that are in addition to state-mandated prohibitions and appropriate to the local conditions. (E) For each action, an estimate of the extent to which the gap between supplies and demand will be reduced by implementation of the action. (5) Communication protocols and procedures to inform customers, the public, interested parties, and local, regional, and state governments, regarding, at a minimum, all of the following: (A) Any current or predicted shortages as determined by the annual water supply and demand assessment described pursuant to Section 10632.1. (B) Any shortage response actions triggered or anticipated to be triggered by the annual water supply and demand assessment described pursuant to Section 10632.1. (C) Any other relevant communications. (6) For an urban retail water supplier, customer compliance, enforcement, appeal, and exemption procedures for triggered shortage response actions as determined pursuant to Section 10632.2. (7) (A) A description of the legal authorities that empower the urban water supplier to implement and enforce its shortage response actions specified in paragraph (4) that may include, but are not limited to, statutory authorities, ordinances, resolutions, and contract provisions. (B) A statement that an urban water supplier shall declare a water shortage emergency in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 350) of Division 1. (C) A statement that an urban water supplier shall coordinate with any city or county within which it provides water supply services for the possible proclamation of a local emergency, as defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code. (8) A description of the financial consequences of, and responses for, drought conditions, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) A description of potential revenue reductions and expense increases associated with activated shortage response actions described in paragraph (4). (B) A description of mitigation actions needed to address revenue reductions and expense increases associated with activated shortage response actions described in paragraph (4). (C) A description of the cost of compliance with Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 365) of Division 1. (9) For an urban retail water supplier, monitoring and reporting requirements and procedures that ensure appropriate data is collected, tracked, and analyzed for purposes of monitoring customer compliance and to meet state reporting requirements. (10) Reevaluation and improvement procedures for systematically monitoring and evaluating the functionality of the water shortage contingency plan in order to ensure shortage risk tolerance is adequate and appropriate water shortage mitigation strategies are implemented as needed. (b) For purposes of developing the water shortage contingency plan pursuant to subdivision (a), an urban water supplier shall analyze and define water features that are artificially supplied with water, including ponds, lakes, waterfalls, and fountains, separately from swimming pools and spas, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 115921 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) The urban water supplier shall make available the water shortage contingency plan prepared pursuant to this article to its customers and any city or county within which it provides water supplies no later than 30 days after adoption of the water shortage contingency plan.
SEC. 33.
Section 10632.1 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10632.1.
An urban water supplier shall conduct an annual water supply and demand assessment pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10632 and, on or before June 1 of each year, submit an annual water shortage assessment report to the department with information for anticipated shortage, triggered shortage response actions, compliance and enforcement actions, and communication actions consistent with the supplier’s water shortage contingency plan. An urban water supplier that relies on imported water from the State Water Project or the Bureau of Reclamation shall submit its annual water supply and demand assessment within 14 days of receiving its final allocations, or by June 1 of each year, whichever is later.
SEC. 34.
Section 10632.2 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10632.2.
An urban water supplier shall follow, where feasible and appropriate, the prescribed procedures and implement determined shortage response actions in its water shortage contingency plan, as identified in subdivision (a) of Section 10632, or reasonable alternative actions, provided that descriptions of the alternative actions are submitted with the annual water shortage assessment report pursuant to Section 10632.1. Nothing in this section prohibits an urban water supplier from taking actions not specified in its water shortage contingency plan, if needed, without having to formally amend its urban water management plan or water shortage contingency plan.
SEC. 35.
Section 10632.3 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10632.3.
It is the intent of the Legislature that, upon proclamation by the Governor of a state of emergency under the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code) based on drought conditions, the board defer to implementation of locally adopted water shortage contingency plans to the extent practicable.
SEC. 36.
Section 10635 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10635.
(a) Every urban water supplier shall include, as part of its urban water management plan, an assessment of the reliability of its water service to its customers during normal, dry, and multiple dry water years. This water supply and demand assessment shall compare the total water supply sources available to the water supplier with the long-term total projected water use over the next 20 years, in five-year increments, for a normal water year, a single dry water year, and a drought lasting five consecutive water years. The water service reliability assessment shall be based upon the information compiled pursuant to Section 10631, including available data from state, regional, or local agency population projections within the service area of the urban water supplier. (b) Every urban water supplier shall include, as part of its urban water management plan, a drought risk assessment for its water service to its customers as part of information considered in developing the demand management measures and water supply projects and programs to be included in the urban water management plan. The urban water supplier may conduct an interim update or updates to this drought risk assessment within the five-year cycle of its urban water management plan update. The drought risk assessment shall include each of the following: (1) A description of the data, methodology, and basis for one or more supply shortage conditions that are necessary to conduct a drought risk assessment for a drought period that lasts five consecutive water years, starting from the year following when the assessment is conducted. (2) A determination of the reliability of each source of supply under a variety of water shortage conditions. This may include a determination that a particular source of water supply is fully reliable under most, if not all, conditions. (3) A comparison of the total water supply sources available to the water supplier with the total projected water use for the drought period. (4) Considerations of the historical drought hydrology, plausible changes on projected supplies and demands under climate change conditions, anticipated regulatory changes, and other locally applicable criteria. (c) The urban water supplier shall provide that portion of its urban water management plan prepared pursuant to this article to any city or county within which it provides water supplies no later than 60 days after the submission of its urban water management plan. (d) Nothing in this article is intended to create a right or entitlement to water service or any specific level of water service. (e) Nothing in this article is intended to change existing law concerning an urban water supplier’s obligation to provide water service to its existing customers or to any potential future customers.
SEC. 37.
Section 10640 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10640.
(a) Every urban water supplier required to prepare a plan pursuant to this part shall prepare its plan pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 10630). The supplier shall likewise periodically review the plan as required by Section 10621, and any amendments or changes required as a result of that review shall be adopted pursuant to this article. (b) Every urban water supplier required to prepare a water shortage contingency plan shall prepare a water shortage contingency plan pursuant to Section 10632. The supplier shall likewise periodically review the water shortage contingency plan as required by paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) of Section 10632 and any amendments or changes required as a result of that review shall be adopted pursuant to this article.
SEC. 38.
Section 10641 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10641.
An urban water supplier required to prepare a plan or a water shortage contingency plan may consult with, and obtain comments from, any public agency or state agency or any person who has special expertise with respect to water demand management methods and techniques.
SEC. 39.
Section 10642 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10642.
Each urban water supplier shall encourage the active involvement of diverse social, cultural, and economic elements of the population within the service area prior to and during the preparation of both the plan and the water shortage contingency plan. Prior to adopting either, the urban water supplier shall make both the plan and the water shortage contingency plan available for public inspection and shall hold a public hearing or hearings thereon. Prior to any of these hearings, notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be published within the jurisdiction of the publicly owned water supplier pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code. The urban water supplier shall provide notice of the time and place of a hearing to any city or county within which the supplier provides water supplies. Notices by a local public agency pursuant to this section shall be provided pursuant to Chapter 17.5 (commencing with Section 7290) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. A privately owned water supplier shall provide an equivalent notice within its service area. After the hearing or hearings, the plan or water shortage contingency plan shall be adopted as prepared or as modified after the hearing or hearings.
SEC. 40.
Section 10644 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10644.
(a) (1) An urban water supplier shall submit to the department, the California State Library, and any city or county within which the supplier provides water supplies a copy of its plan no later than 30 days after adoption. Copies of amendments or changes to the plans shall be submitted to the department, the California State Library, and any city or county within which the supplier provides water supplies within 30 days after adoption. (2) The plan, or amendments to the plan, submitted to the department pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted electronically and shall include any standardized forms, tables, or displays specified by the department. (b) If an urban water supplier revises its water shortage contingency plan, the supplier shall submit to the department a copy of its water shortage contingency plan prepared pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10632 no later than 30 days after adoption, in accordance with protocols for submission and using electronic reporting tools developed by the department. (c) (1) (A) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the department shall prepare and submit to the Legislature, on or before July 1, in the years ending in seven and two, a report summarizing the status of the plans and water shortage contingency plans adopted pursuant to this part. The report prepared by the department shall identify the exemplary elements of the individual plans and water shortage contingency plans. The department shall provide a copy of the report to each urban water supplier that has submitted its plan and water shortage contingency plan to the department. The department shall also prepare reports and provide data for any legislative hearings designed to consider the effectiveness of plans and water shortage contingency plans submitted pursuant to this part. (B) The department shall prepare and submit to the board, on or before September 30 of each year, a report summarizing the submitted water supply and demand assessment results along with appropriate reported water shortage conditions and the regional and statewide analysis of water supply conditions developed by the department. As part of the report, the department shall provide a summary and, as appropriate, urban water supplier specific information regarding various shortage response actions implemented as a result of annual supplier-specific water supply and demand assessments performed pursuant to Section 10632.1. (C) The department shall submit the report to the Legislature for the 2015 plans by July 1, 2017, and the report to the Legislature for the 2020 plans and water shortage contingency plans by July 1, 2022. (2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. (d) The department shall make available to the public the standard the department will use to identify exemplary water demand management measures.
SEC. 41.
Section 10645 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10645.
(a) Not later than 30 days after filing a copy of its plan with the department, the urban water supplier and the department shall make the plan available for public review during normal business hours. (b) Not later than 30 days after filing a copy of its water shortage contingency plan with the department, the urban water supplier and the department shall make the plan available for public review during normal business hours.
SEC. 42.
Section 10650 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10650.
Any actions or proceedings, other than actions by the board, to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the acts or decisions of an urban water supplier on the grounds of noncompliance with this part shall be commenced as follows: (a) An action or proceeding alleging failure to adopt a plan or a water shortage contingency plan shall be commenced within 18 months after that adoption is required by this part. (b) Any action or proceeding alleging that a plan or water shortage contingency plan, or action taken pursuant to either, does not comply with this part shall be commenced within 90 days after filing of the plan or water shortage contingency plan or an amendment to either pursuant to Section 10644 or the taking of that action.
SEC. 43.
Section 10651 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10651.
In any action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul a plan or a water shortage contingency plan, or an action taken pursuant to either by an urban water supplier on the grounds of noncompliance with this part, the inquiry shall extend only to whether there was a prejudicial abuse of discretion. Abuse of discretion is established if the supplier has not proceeded in a manner required by law or if the action by the water supplier is not supported by substantial evidence.
SEC. 44.
Section 10653 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10653.
The adoption of a plan shall satisfy any requirements of state law, regulation, or order, including those of the board and the Public Utilities Commission, for the preparation of water management plans, water shortage contingency plans, or conservation plans; provided, that if the board or the Public Utilities Commission requires additional information concerning water conservation, drought response measures, or financial conditions to implement its existing authority, nothing in this part shall be deemed to limit the board or the commission in obtaining that information. The requirements of this part shall be satisfied by any urban water demand management plan that complies with analogous federal laws or regulations after the effective date of this part, and which substantially meets the requirements of this part, or by any existing urban water management plan which includes the contents of a plan required under this part.
SEC. 45.
Section 10654 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10654.
An urban water supplier may recover in its rates the costs incurred in preparing its urban water management plan, its drought risk assessment, its water supply and demand assessment, and its water shortage contingency plan and implementing the reasonable water conservation measures included in either of the plans.
SEC. 46.
Section 10656 of the Water Code is amended to read:
10656.
An urban water supplier is not eligible for a water grant or loan awarded or administered by the state unless the urban water supplier complies with this part.
SEC. 47.
Section 10657 is added to the Water Code, to read:
10657.
The department may adopt regulations regarding the definitions of water, water use, and reporting periods, and may adopt any other regulations deemed necessary or desirable to implement this part. In developing regulations pursuant to this section, the department shall solicit broad public participation from stakeholders and other interested persons.
SEC. 48.
This act shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 1668 of the 2017–18 Regular Session is enacted and becomes effective.
How I See it 