Bill Text: CA SB366 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: The California Water Plan: long-term supply targets.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-26 - Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [SB366 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB366-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 22, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 366

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Introduced by Senator Caballero
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Blanca Rubio)

February 08, 2023

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An act to amend Section 10004.6 of, to repeal Sections 10004.5 and 10013 of, and to repeal and add Sections 10004 and 10005 of, the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 366, as amended, Caballero. The California Water Plan: long-term supply targets.

Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as the California Water Plan. Existing law requires the department to include a discussion of various strategies in the plan update, including, but not limited to, strategies relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, water transfers, and alternative pricing policies that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state. Existing law requires the department to establish an advisory committee to assist the department in updating the plan.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations and state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that modernizes the California Water Plan, including the establishment of long-term water supply targets.

This bill would require the department to instead establish a stakeholder advisory committee, to expand the membership of the committee to include tribes and environmental justice interests, to prohibit a member of the committee from serving longer than the development of 2 updates, and to require the committee to meet a minimum of 4 times annually. The bill would require the department, in coordination with the California Water Commission, the State Water Resources Control Board, other state and federal agencies as appropriate, and the stakeholder advisory committee to develop a comprehensive plan for addressing the state’s water needs and meeting specified water supply targets established by the bill for purposes of “The California Water Plan.” The bill would require the plan to provide recommendations and strategies to ensure enough water supply for all beneficial uses. The bill would require the plan to include specified components, including an economic analysis and a long-term financing plan. The bill would require the department to develop the long-term financing plan, as provided, to meet the water supply targets and include the final financing plan as part of each update. The bill would require the Director of Water Resources to provide an oral and written report to the Legislature, each year by May 1, regarding the progress made toward meeting the water supply targets, as specified. The bill would also require the department to conduct public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan and to post the preliminary draft of the plan on the department’s internet website. The bill would include findings and declarations relating to water supply and climate change.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) To thrive as a state, California needs a reliable supply of water for urban, agricultural, and environmental uses that is resilient to climate change.

(b) California’s existing water usage is highly reliant on capturing the snow melt on an annual basis. That water is stored in lakes, reservoirs, and groundwater basins and is then transported around the state for environmental, residential, business, and agricultural use when needed.

(c) California has the most intricate and elaborate system of water conveyance in the world.

(d) Dependent on the extent of drought or flood conditions, the Department of Water Resources has calculated that the volume of water used by people in California for agricultural, urban, and environmental purposes ranges from 60,000,000 acre-feet per year to 90,000,000 acre-feet per year.

(e) Per capita water use has declined over time, thanks to a conservation ethic encouraged by water agencies and other stakeholders, water-saving indoor plumbing fixtures and appliances, better leak detection, and efforts to reduce outdoor water use.

(f) Water use also has significantly declined in the agricultural sector thanks to proactive steps taken by irrigation districts and farmers, such as installing drip irrigation systems.

(g) California is experiencing significant impacts of a changing climate on our water supply systems.

(h) According to the Department of Water Resources, hotter and drier weather is estimated to diminish our existing water supply even further and likely by 10 percent.

(i) A 10-percent loss could mean the disappearance of about 6,000,000 acre-feet to 9,000,000 acre-feet of water supply.

(j) Many rivers, lakes, and estuaries are being impacted by declining water quality, including increases in harmful algal blooms.

(k) The California central valley has a groundwater overdraft of 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 acre-feet of water.

(l) Following more than two decades of “megadrought” in the Colorado Basin, reservoir levels are so low that supply cuts are likely.

(m) California’s precipitation is changing from seasonal snow in the Sierra to periods of substantial rainfall, including from atmospheric rivers.

(n) The shift to drier dry years and wetter wet years makes it imperative that the state of California develop comprehensive wet year strategies that take full advantage of times of abundance, while also ensuring public safety from floods.

(o) It is imperative that California capture more water from atmospheric rivers and other storms that occur during dry years to help fill groundwater basins and surface storage.

(p) California is the nation’s agricultural powerhouse, accounting for 12 percent of agricultural production in 2021, including more than 70 percent of the nation’s fruits and nuts.

(q) The agricultural sector produces annual revenues of more than $50 billion, employs more than 420,000 people, and supports large food and beverage processing industries.

(r) According to the Department of Water Resources, there is the potential for more than 13,000,000 acre-feet of groundwater recharge annually with more than 2,5000,000 acre-feet being possible using existing infrastructure.

(s) The Department of Water Resources describes a statewide capacity in groundwater basins in the range of 1,000,000,000 acre-feet or approximately 20 times the total surface water storage capacity statewide.

(t) California is the home to cutting-edge job-creating industries, such as those in Silicon Valley and southern California’s biotech industry.

(u) Local and regional water suppliers are at the forefront of implementing projects to build resiliency, but need additional support from the state and federal governments through funding and regulatory frameworks that are adapted for the new climate reality.

(v) It is essential for our economy, environment, and well-being that California increases the resilience of the state’s water supplies.

(w) Governor Gavin Newsom released “California’s Water Supply Strategy: Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future” in August 2022 that began to outline strategies for increasing California’s water supply and streamlining approvals, but California must make a historic change in the state’s comprehensive water plan and how water is provided for environmental, residential, business, and agricultural uses.

SEC. 2.

 Section 10004 of the Water Code is repealed.

10004.

(a)The plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the state which is set forth and described in Bulletin No. 1 of the State Water Resources Board entitled “Water Resources of California,” Bulletin No. 2 of the State Water Resources Board entitled, “Water Utilization and Requirements of California,” and Bulletin No. 3 of the department entitled, “The California Water Plan,” with any necessary amendments, supplements, and additions to the plan, shall be known as “The California Water Plan.”

(b)(1)The department shall update The California Water Plan on or before December 31, 2003, and every five years thereafter. The department shall report the amendments, supplements, and additions included in the updates of The California Water Plan, together with a summary of the department’s conclusions and recommendations, to the Legislature in the session in which the updated plan is issued.

(2)The department shall establish an advisory committee, comprised of representatives of agricultural and urban water suppliers, local government, business, production agriculture, and environmental interests, and other interested parties, to assist the department in the updating of The California Water Plan. The department shall consult with the advisory committee in carrying out this section. The department shall provide written notice of meetings of the advisory committee to any interested person or entity that request the notice. The meetings shall be open to the public.

(3)The department shall release a preliminary draft of The California Water Plan, as updated, upon request, to interested persons and entities throughout the state for their review and comments. The department shall provide these persons and entities an opportunity to present written or oral comments on the preliminary draft. The department shall consider these comments in the preparation of the final publication of The California Water Plan, as updated.

SEC. 3.

 Section 10004 is added to the Water Code, to read:

10004.

 (a) The department, in coordination with the California Water Commission, the board, other state and federal agencies as appropriate, and the stakeholder advisory committee outlined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) shall develop a comprehensive plan for addressing the state’s water needs and meeting the water supply targets in subdivision (c), which shall be known as “The California Water Plan.” The plan shall provide recommendations and strategies to ensure enough water supply for all beneficial uses.

(b) It is hereby declared that the people of the state have a primary interest in the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the state by all individuals and entities and that it is the policy of the state that The California Water Plan, with any necessary amendments, supplements, and additions to the plan, is accepted as the master plan that guides the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, management, and efficient utilization of the water resources of the state.

(c) The department shall include in the plan a water supply planning target of 15,000,000 acre-feet of water by 2050 with an interim target of 10,000,000 acre-feet of water by 2040 to ensure water supply reliability for California’s future economic and environmental sustainability. The target shall include new and expanded supplies, including from the strategies listed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).

(d) In addition to the water supply planning targets in subdivision (c), each update of the plan shall include the following components:

(1) (A) A discussion of various strategies, including, but not limited to, those relating to the development of new surface and groundwater storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, improved regional and statewide conveyance, stormwater capture, and water transfers that may be pursued in order to meet the water supply targets in subdivision (c). The department shall include in the plan a discussion of the potential advantages and disadvantages of each strategy, how to maximize the strategy for long-term sustainability, how innovation and research can spur the implementation of each strategy, and an identification of all federal and state permits, approvals, or entitlements that may be required in order to implement the various components of the strategy.

(B) In consultation with the advisory committee outlined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f), the department shall develop and make recommendations for specific actions that shall be taken to streamline those permits and approvals.

(C) In carrying out this chapter, a public water system, irrigation district, or wastewater service provider shall not be required to implement a specific strategy or project.

(2) A study to support the water supply targets and to recommend programs, policies, and facilities to achieve those targets with assumptions and estimates as outlined in Section 10004.6.

(3) An economic analysis of the costs and impacts to the state if it has inadequate water supplies to meet current demand for all sectors of the economy and environment in the next 10-, 20-, and 30-year scenarios. The analysis shall include a range of water supply shortfall projections and water supply shortage scenarios for urban and agricultural water suppliers using water suppliers’ existing planning documents, such as water shortage contingency plans, urban water management plans, and agricultural water management plans. The analysis also shall include the impacts of possible rationing for various agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential customer classes.

(4) A report on the development of regional and local water projects within each hydrologic region of the state to improve water supplies to meet municipal, agricultural, and environmental water needs and meet the water supply targets.

(5) A long-term financing plan as outlined in Section 10005.

(e) The declaration set forth in subdivision (b) does not constitute approval for the construction of specific projects or routes for transfer of water, or for financial assistance, by the state without further legislative action, nor shall the declaration be construed as a prohibition of the development of the water resources of the state by any entity.

(f) (1) The department shall update The California Water Plan on or before December 31, 2028, and every five years thereafter. The department shall report the amendments, supplements, and additions included in the updates of The California Water Plan, together with a summary of the department’s conclusions and recommendations, to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, in the session in which the updated plan is issued.

(2) The director shall provide an oral and written report to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, each year by May 1, regarding the progress made toward meeting the water supply targets in an informational hearing of the relevant committees. The report shall include the list of recommended actions that require legislative intervention and those that can be implemented by the department or other state agencies. The written report shall be posted on the department’s internet website.

(3) (A) The department, in consultation with the California Water Commission, shall establish a stakeholder advisory committee, comprised of representatives of agricultural and urban water suppliers, local government, business, production agriculture, tribes, environmental justice and environmental interests, and other interested parties, to provide substantiative input to assist the department in updating The California Water Plan, including the financing plan outlined in Section 10005. The department shall consult with and consider recommendations from the advisory committee in carrying out this section. The department shall accept applications for the stakeholder advisory committee before each update and ensure a balanced representation of members. A member of the advisory committee shall not serve for longer than the development of two updates. The advisory committee shall meet a minimum of four times annually. The department shall provide written notice of meetings of the advisory committee to any interested person or entity that requests the notice. The meetings shall be open to the public.

(B) The department also shall seek out and consider all relevant information from retail and wholesale water agencies, agriculture, business, tribes, environmental and environmental justice communities, and any other communities potentially impacted by the plan and from researchers and experts on climate science, climate science solutions, water storage, water conveyance, and environmental protection.

(4) In preparing any update of The California Water Plan, the department shall conduct a series of public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan. The department shall conduct a portion of these workshops in regions of the state that have been impacted the most by drought and other weather extremes, including, but not limited to, communities with minority populations, communities with low-income populations, or both.

(5) The department shall release a preliminary draft of The California Water Plan, as updated, upon request, to interested persons and entities throughout the state for their review and comments. The department shall provide these persons and entities an opportunity to present written or oral comments on the preliminary draft. The department also shall post the preliminary draft on the department’s internet website. The department shall consider these comments in the preparation of the final publication of The California Water Plan, as updated.

SEC. 4.

 Section 10004.5 of the Water Code is repealed.

10004.5.

As part of the requirement of the department to update The California Water Plan pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004, the department shall include in the plan a discussion of various strategies, including, but not limited to, those relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers that may be pursued in order to meet the future water needs of the state. The department shall also include a discussion of the potential for alternative water pricing policies to change current and projected uses. The department shall include in the plan a discussion of the potential advantages and disadvantages of each strategy and an identification of all federal and state permits, approvals, or entitlements that are anticipated to be required in order to implement the various components of the strategy.

SEC. 5.

 Section 10004.6 of the Water Code is amended to read:

10004.6.

(a)As part of updating The California Water Plan every five years pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004, the department shall conduct a study to determine the amount of water needed to meet the state’s future needs and to recommend programs, policies, and facilities to meet those needs.

(b)The department shall consult with the advisory committee established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004 in carrying out this section.

(c)

10004.6.

 (a) On or before January 1, 2002, and one year prior to before issuing each successive update to The California Water Plan, the department shall release a preliminary draft of the assumptions and other estimates upon which the study will be based, to interested persons and entities throughout the state for their review and comments. The department shall provide these persons and entities an opportunity to present written or oral comments on the preliminary draft. The department shall consider these documents when adopting the final assumptions and estimates for the study. For the purpose of carrying out this subdivision, the department shall release, at a minimum, assumptions and other estimates relating to all of the following:

(1) Basin hydrology, including annual rainfall, estimated unimpaired streamflow, depletions, and consumptive uses.

(2) Groundwater supplies, including estimates of sustainable yield, supplies necessary to recover overdraft basins, and supplies lost due to pollution and other groundwater contaminants.

(3) Current and projected land use patterns, including the mix of residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and undeveloped lands.

(4) Environmental water needs, including regulatory instream flow requirements, nonregulated instream uses, and water needs by wetlands, preserves, refuges, and other managed and unmanaged natural resource lands.

(5) Current and projected population.

(6) Current and projected water use for all of the following:

(A) Interior uses in a single-family dwelling.

(B) Exterior uses in a single-family dwelling.

(C) All uses in a multifamily dwelling.

(D) Commercial uses.

(E) Industrial uses.

(F) Parks and open spaces.

(G) Agricultural water diversion and use.

(7) Evapotranspiration rates for major crop types, including estimates of evaporative losses by irrigation practice and the extent to which evaporation reduces transpiration.

(8) Current and projected adoption of urban and agricultural conservation practices.

(9) Current and projected supplies of water provided by water recycling and reuse.

(d)The department shall include a discussion of the potential for alternative water pricing policies to change current and projected water uses identified pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c).

(10) Climate change impacts by region.

(e)Nothing in this section requires or prohibits

(b) This section does not require or prohibit the department from updating any data necessary to update The California Water Plan pursuant to subdivision (b) (f) of Section 10004.

SEC. 6.

 Section 10005 of the Water Code is repealed.

10005.

(a)It is hereby declared that the people of the state have a primary interest in the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the state by all individuals and entities and that it is the policy of the state that The California Water Plan, with any necessary amendments, supplements, and additions to the plan, is accepted as the master plan which guides the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, management and efficient utilization of the water resources of the state.

(b)The declaration set forth in subdivision (a) does not constitute approval for the construction of specific projects or routes for transfer of water, or for financial assistance, by the state, without further legislative action, nor shall the declaration be construed as a prohibition of the development of the water resources of the state by any entity.

SEC. 7.

 Section 10005 is added to the Water Code, to read:

10005.

 (a) The department shall develop a long-term financing plan to meet the water supply targets and include the final financing plan as part of each update.

(b) The financing plan shall do all of the following:

(1) Analyze a variety of financing mechanisms, including use of general fund moneys, general obligation bond fund moneys, and other potential sources of financing to meet the water supply targets in The California Water Plan and provide necessary investments to ensure a water resilient state.

(2) Consider the cost-effectiveness of various water supply options and compare those costs to the economic costs of supply shortages on various customer classes and the California economy.

(3) Recommend actions to be taken by the department, the board, or other state agencies to streamline access to funding for projects in all areas of the state that will help achieve the water supply targets, including a coordinated application process across state agencies, expedited funding guidelines, and an annual report listing projects funded by state agencies with the resulting acre-feet produced.

(c) The California Water Commission shall conduct a series of public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the financing plan. The commission shall conduct a portion of these workshops in regions of the state that have been impacted the most by drought or other weather extremes, including, but not limited to, communities with minority populations, communities with low-income populations, or both.

(d) The financing plan shall recognize that public water systems, irrigation districts, and wastewater service providers utilize different rate structures and avoid mandates for revising those rates or a specific level of investment from public water systems, irrigation districts, or wastewater service providers.

SEC. 8.

 Section 10013 of the Water Code is repealed.

10013.

The department, as a part of the preparation of the department’s Bulletin 160-03, shall include in the California Water Plan a report on the development of regional and local water projects within each hydrologic region of the state, as described in the department’s Bulletin 160-98, to improve water supplies to meet municipal, agricultural, and environmental water needs and minimize the need to import water from other hydrologic regions. The report shall include, but is not limited to, regional and local water projects that use technologies for desalting brackish groundwater and ocean water, reclaiming water for use within the community generating the water to be reclaimed, the construction of improved potable water treatment facilities so that water from sources determined to be unsuitable can be used, and the construction of dual water systems and brine lines, particularly in connection with new developments and when replacing water piping in developed or redeveloped areas.

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)To thrive as a state, California needs a reliable supply of water for urban, agricultural, and environmental uses that is completely resilient to climate change.

(b)California’s existing water level is highly reliant on capturing the snow melt on an annual basis. That captured water is stored in lakes, reservoirs, and groundwater basins, and is then transported around the state for environmental, residential, business, and agricultural use when needed.

(c)California has the most intricate and elaborate system of water conveyance in the world.

(d)The volume of water used by people in California for agriculture, urban, and environmental purposes ranges from 60,000,000 to 90,000,000 acre-feet per year.

(e)Per-capita water use has declined over time, thanks to water-saving indoor plumbing fixtures and appliances, better leak detection, development of potable and nonpotable water reuse projects, and efforts to reduce outdoor water use.

(f)Over the last two years, scientists and water managers have been alarmed by the accelerating impacts of the warming climate on our water supply.

(g)Hotter and drier weather is estimated to diminish our existing water supply by 10 percent to 20 percent.

(h)A loss of 10 percent of our existing water supply due to hotter and drier conditions could mean the disappearance of about 6,000,000 to 9,000,000 acre-feet of water.

(i)For comparison’s sake, California’s largest reservoir, the Shasta Reservoir, holds 4,500,000 acre-feet of water.

(j)Many rivers, lakes, and estuaries are being impacted by declining water quality, including increases in harmful algae blooms.

(k)The California central valley has a groundwater overdraft of 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 acre-feet of water.

(l)Following more than two decades of “megadrought” in the Colorado River Basin, reservoir levels are so low that near-term supply cuts are likely.

(m)California’s precipitation is changing from seasonal snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to periods of substantial rainfall, including atmospheric rivers.

(n)The shift to drier dry years and wetter wet years makes it imperative that the State of California develop comprehensive wet-year strategies that take full advantage of times of abundance, while also ensuring public safety from floods.

(o)It is imperative that California capture more water from atmospheric rivers and other storms that occur during dry years to help fill groundwater basins and surface storage.

(p)California is the nation’s agricultural powerhouse, accounting for 12 percent of the nation’s agricultural production in 2021, including more than 70 percent of the nation’s fruits and nuts.

(q)The agriculture sector produces annual revenues of more than $50 billion, employs more than 420,000 people, and supports large food and beverage processing industries.

(r)According to the Department of Water Resources, there is the potential for more than 13,000,000 acre-feet of groundwater recharge annually, with more than 2,500,000 acre-feet being possible using existing infrastructure.

(s)The Department of Water Resources describes a statewide capacity in groundwater basins in the range of 1,000,000,000 acre-feet or approximately 20 times the total surface water storage capacity statewide.

(t)California is home to cutting-edge, job-creating industries such as those in Silicon Valley and southern California’s biotechnology industry.

(u)It is essential for our economy, environment, and well-being that California increases the resilience of the state’s water supplies.

(v)California must make a historic change in how water is provided for environmental, residential, business, and agricultural uses.

SEC. 2.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that modernizes the California Water Plan, including the establishment of long-term water supply targets.