BILL ANALYSIS
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 1834 HEARING DATE: June 22, 2010
AUTHOR: Solorio URGENCY: No
VERSION: May 28, 2010 CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: Environmental QualityFISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Rainwater Capture Act of 2010.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution requires
water to be put to a reasonable and beneficial use. Current law
further includes numerous provisions to encourage the efficient
use of water. Most recently, the Legislature enacted SB 790
(Pavley). Among other things, that bill authorizes the
development and implementation of stormwater resource plans.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would establish the Rainwater Capture Act of 2010.
Specifically, this bill would:
1.Define "rainwater" as "rain or snowmelt that has not entered
an off-site storm drain system or channel, a flood control
channel, or any other stream channel, and has not previously
been put to beneficial use."
2.Authorize a property owner 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. The property owner would be required to
comply with a local agency's program to promote rainwater or
stormwater capture, if such a program exists. The property
owner would be authorized to finance a rainwater recapture
system through a voluntary contractual assessment on their own
property through the Improvement Act of 1911.
3.Require the State Water Resources Control Board (board) to
initiate a stakeholder process to develop recommendations for
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policies that would encourage and facilitate the installation
and use of rainwater capture systems for outdoor, nonpotable
uses and groundwater recharge, and capture of stormwater by
public agencies.
4.Require the stakeholder process to address issues arising out
of rainwater capture for nonpotable uses, including:
Vector control.
Water supply augmentation.
Water quality.
Safe installation, maintenance, and operation of
rainwater capture systems.
Water rights.
Vegetation and habitat management in flood control
facilities and rainwater or stormwater capture systems.
Consistency with building standards requirements.
Potential for indoor, nonpotable use of captured
rainwater.
Financial and tax incentives to encourage greater
capture of rainwater and stormwater.
Necessary monitoring and reporting of rainwater and
stormwater capture programs.
Outcomes of existing programs that promote rainwater or
stormwater capture.
1.Require the board to publish the recommendations on its
Internet Web site by December 31, 2011. These recommendations
may include recommendations for additional legislation,
recommendations for building standards for the installation
and use of rainwater capture systems, or other state agency
actions to implement the recommendations. If the
recommendations include recommended changes in building
standards, the board would be required to submit those
recommendations to the Building Standards Commission and the
Department of Housing and Community Development for approval
and adoption.
2.Authorize the board to develop its own policies or guidelines,
if the board finds that those policies or guidelines would
encourage and facilitate greater capture of rainwater and
stormwater.
The bill would also:
3.Authorize a licensed landscape contractor to install a
rainwater capture system under certain circumstances.
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4.Make a number of statements of legislative intent, including:
The use of rainwater for nonpotable uses should not be
constrained by water quality requirements for potable water
use.
State, regional, and local agencies with
responsibilities that include building standards, flood
protection, water supply, or land use should collaborate
with each other to promote greater capture of rainwater and
stormwater for water supply purposes.
The California Building Standards Code, including the
California Green Building Standards Code should encourage
and provide building standards guidelines for the
installation and use of rainwater capture systems for
outdoor, nonpotable uses and groundwater recharge.
1.Make numerous findings and declarations regarding the
potential benefits of rainwater capture.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "the Rainwater Capture Act of 2010 -
will take some critical steps toward improving California's
ability to capture and use rainwater. It starts by authorizing
landowners to install "rainwater capture systems" for saving
water, for landscaping or for infiltrating into the aquifer
beneath their property. The bill's other key element requires
SWRCB to initiate a stakeholder process to address many other
legal and policy issues related to increasing capture of
rainwater and stormwater. AB 1834 also allows landscape
contractor installation of rainwater capture systems and
requires consideration of rainwater capture when the State
adopts the next set of plumbing standards."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None
COMMENTS
Towards More Frugal Use Of Water. 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.
Important Unanswered Questions. The ultimate path to widespread
use of rainwater capture systems is currently unclear. The
proposed State Board process is designed to develop
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recommendations for many of the more vexing issues. Two of
these issues relevant to this Committee's jurisdiction are:
Definition of rainwater - it may seem difficult to believe,
but there is no commonly accepted definition of rainwater, or
stormwater for that matter. This bill proposes definitions of
each, which might or might not ultimately be the most
appropriate.
Water law - the legal basis for using rainwater under
California's unique water law is also unclear. Under some
legal theories, one cannot establish a right to captured
rainwater, as capturing rain water may diminish the amount of
water available to a more senior water rights holder. Under
another theory, the right to capture rainwater is akin to a
riparian right, in that by virtue of owning the land, you have
the right to acquire any water that may fall from the sky onto
your property. Current California water law is not
particularly helpful in resolving what the rule of law is with
respect to rainwater capture, nor what changes to California
water law may or may not be desirable.
Cart Before The Horse? This bill would authorize landowners to
install and operate rainwater capture systems to supply water
for outdoor, nonpotable uses on the property where the rainwater
was captured or for groundwater recharge. This bill also calls
for the State Board to make recommendations based on a
stakeholder process, to recommend policies on numerous
outstanding issues, including water rights, water quality, safe
plumbing requirements, etc.
Depending on the outcome of the State Board's process, we might
have to change a whole host of things. To minimize the
potential problems of practice getting too far ahead of policy,
the committee may wish to consider amending the bill to:
Clarify that this bill does not change water law or affect
existing water rights.
Clarify that the definitions of rainwater, etc. established in
this bill only apply to the provisions established by this
bill.
Limit the application of this bill to urbanized areas.
(See Amendments 1-4)
State Board Process. According to the author's staff, the
intent of the State Board process is for the State Board to be
responsible for developing recommendations, and for the State
Board to develop those recommendations informed by the
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stakeholder group. The committee may wish to consider
amendments to make that distinction more clear, and to require
the State Board to notify the Legislature when those
recommendations are completed. (See Amendments 5-10)
Dual referred to EQ - This bill has been referred to this
committee and the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. To
ensure this bill would be able to meet legislative deadlines,
the suggested amendments would need to be taken in the
Environmental Quality Committee
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: To be taken in the Environmental Quality
Committee:
AMENDMENT 1: On page 5, following line 21, insert:
10571.5 Nothing in this part shall be construed do
either of the following:
(a) Alter or impair any existing rights.
(b) Change existing water rights law.
AMENDMENT 2: On page 5, line 22, strike "Unless" and
insert:
Solely for the purposes of this part, and unless
AMENDMENT 3: On page 5, line 38, following "facility"
insert:
in an urbanized area
AMENDMENT 4: On page 6, following line 7, insert:
(d) "Urbanized area" has the same meaning as in Section
21071 of the Public Resources Code.
AMENDMENT 5: On page 8, line 4, strike "initiate a
stakeholder process to"
AMENDMENT 6: On page 8, line 10, following "board" insert:
shall develop the recommendations through a stakeholder
process. The board
AMENDMENT 7: On page 8, line 12, strike "described in
subdivision (a)." and insert:
.
AMENDMENT 8: On page 8, line 17, strike "stakeholder
process" and insert:
board and the stakeholders
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AMENDMENT 9: On page 8, line 18, strike "arising out of
rainwater capture for nonpotable uses, "
AMENDMENT 10: On page 9, line 1, following "2011" insert:
and shall notify the fiscal committees and the appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature of such when the
recommendations become available on the Web site.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Planning Association California Chapter
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Landscape contractors Association
California State Association of Counties
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Natural Resources Defense Council
TreePeople
OPPOSITION
None Received
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