BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1834
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1834 (Solorio)
As Amended May 28, 2010
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 13-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Fuller, Bill |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Berryhill, Arambula, Tom | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Berryhill, Blumenfield, | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| |Caballero, Ruskin, | |Monning, Ruskin, Harkey, |
| |Fletcher, Bonnie | |Miller, Nielsen, Norby, |
| |Lowenthal, Salas, Yamada, | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| |Fong | |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Allows a landowner to install a rainwater recapture
system to irrigate landscaping or recharge groundwater.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the Rainwater Capture Act of 2010 recognizing
rainwater flowing off of buildings, parking lots, roads and
other impervious surfaces could contribute to local water
supplies and reduce water and pollution flowing to the ocean.
2)Allows a landowner to install, maintain, and operate a
rainwater capture system for outdoor nonpotable water uses on
the property where the rainwater was captured or for
groundwater recharge.
3)Requires a landowner to comply with a local agency's program
to promote rainwater or stormwater capture, if such a program
exists, but does not impose a duty, or impair the authority of
a local agency to establish or implement a rainwater capture
program.
4)Exempts nonpotable uses of rainwater from the same water
quality requirements as potable uses but maintains any
requirements which prevent groundwater contamination from
strormwater drainage.
5)Allows a property owner to finance a rainwater recapture
system through a voluntary contractual assessment on their own
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property.
6)Encourages collaboration to promote the greater capture of
rainwater and stormwater for water supply purposes among
state, regional and local agencies with responsibilities for
building standards, flood protection, water supply, land use,
and other requirements.
7)Initiates a stakeholder process, led by the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB), to develop guidelines to
address legal and policy issues arising out of stormwater and
rainwater recapture. Also allows the SWRCB to develop its own
policies or guidelines.
8)Specifies the circumstances under which a licensed landscape
contractor may install a rainwater capture system and, in
general, the process for integrating standards which promote
rainwater recapture into the building code, including the
Green Building Standards Code.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Allows property owners to enter into contractual agreements to
pay an assessment on their property in order to finance
permanently affixed energy and water efficiency improvements.
2)Requires the state to achieve a 20% reduction in per capita
water use by 2020.
FISCAL EFFECT : One-time costs in 2010-11 to SWRCB of
approximately $200,000, or the equivalent of two full-time
positions, to convene a stakeholder process and report to the
Legislature (Waste Discharge Permit Fund).
COMMENTS : By some estimates, one inch of rain on a 2,000 square
foot roof generates more than 1,000 gallons of water. Since
outdoor water use can account for up to 50 to 70% of a
household's total usage, rainwater harvesting for landscape
irrigation could help alleviate some of the pressure on
California's limited potable water supplies.
SB 7 (Steinberg), Chapter 4, Statutes of 2009-10 Seventh
Extraordinary Session, requires the state to achieve a 20%
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reduction in urban per capita water use by 2020. Capturing and
saving rainwater or directing it to groundwater recharge could
help bolster local water supplies and contribute to such water
conservation efforts. In addition, capturing stormwater could
circumvent some of the problems associated with rainwater
running off of impervious surfaces such as parking lots,
streets, and sidewalks where it picks up oil, chemicals,
sediment, bacteria and other pollutants in its journey to the
local waterway.
In Australia, which is undergoing one of the worst droughts in
1,000 years of its history, rebates are offered to homeowners
who choose to install water tanks. Likewise, the Water
Conservation Division of Austin, Texas, offers a rainwater
harvesting incentive program that encourages the use of
rainwater as a supplement to municipal water for irrigation use.
While existing law does not prevent installation of rainwater
capture systems, local ordinances, however, may, in effect,
restrict or prohibit the installation of rainwater capture
systems. For example, local ordinances may require such systems
to meet the same standards as potable water systems. Or, they
may restrict such systems in an effort to control mosquitoes or
other pests that breed in standing water. In any case, these
local ordinances can prevent the people of the state from making
improvements to their properties in order to minimize their use
of potable water.
Supporters of this bill contend it will allow land owners to
voluntarily improve their property while furthering the publicly
beneficial goal of reducing water use. Other stakeholders have
questioned whether homeowners should be allowed to install
rainwater recapture systems in advance of SWRCB-led guidelines
being developed. In particular, there were concerns that
rainwater recapture systems should be consistent with building
codes, including plumbing codes. The author's office convened a
stakeholder group and developed the current version of this bill
with the goal of addressing some of those concerns.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0004746
AB 1834
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