BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1834 (Solorio)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 07/15/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 6-1, EQ 7-0
AB 1834 (Solorio), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1834 authorizes property owners in
non-agricultural areas to install rainwater capture systems. The
bill requires the State Water Resources Control Board to
initiate a stakeholder process to develop recommendations for
policies on a variety of issues relating to rainwater capture
and authorizes the State Water Board to propose recommendations
for updated building standards.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Water Board costs for $370 $270 General
stakeholder process
Dept. of Water Resources $100 $100 General
consultation
Dept. of Housing and $75 $75 Special
*
Community Development
building standard adoption
Building Standards Commission $40 Special
*
building standard adoption
* Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund.
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Current law requires water to be put to a reasonable and
beneficial use. While California statute and case law contain
detailed requirements for the appropriate use of water, there is
no definition of rainwater in the codes and the law is unclear
as to a property owner's right to use rainwater that falls on
his or her property.
AB 1834 defines rainwater as "rain or snowmelt that has not
entered an offsite storm drain system or channel, a flood
AB 1834 (Solorio), Page 2
control channel, or any other stream channel, and has not
previously been put to beneficial use". The bill authorizes
property owners in non-agricultural areas to capture rainwater
flowing off roofs or other manmade structures and use that water
for nonpotable outdoor uses or infiltration into groundwater.
The property owner is required to comply with any applicable
local rainwater capture requirements. A property owner is
authorized to finance the construction of a rainwater capture
system through a property assessed clean energy bond (which is
paid back through a voluntary assessment on the property tax
bill).
AB 1834 requires the State Water Resources Control Board to
convene a stakeholder process to develop recommendations for
policies to facilitate rainwater capture. The State Water Board
is required to include all interested parties, including local,
state, and federal agencies, to deliberate about specified
issues relating to rainwater capture. The bill enumerates twelve
specific issues to be considered in the stakeholder process,
including water supply issues, effects on downstream users and
wildlife, consistency with building standards, and financial and
tax incentives to encourage increased capture of rainwater and
stormwater runoff. The State Water Board is required to publish
the results of the stakeholder process by December 2011.
Because of the breadth of issues that must be addressed in the
stakeholder process and the potentially large number of
stakeholders that may be interested, the State Water Board
indicates that there will be considerable costs to manage the
process. The State Water Board estimates that it will need about
$650,000 over two fiscal years, including both additional staff
positions, contracting funds for specialized expertise, and
administrative costs. In addition, the Department of Water
Resources indicates that it will need about $200,000 in
additional staff costs to participate in the stakeholder process
and provide information and expertise on water use and water
supply issues.
If the stakeholder process results in recommendations for
changes to building standards, the State Water Board is required
to submit those recommendations to the Department of Housing and
Community Development and the California Building Standards
Commission, for their review and adoption.
In order to review and adopt new building standards following
the stakeholder process, the Department of Housing and Community
AB 1834 (Solorio), Page 2
Development indicates that it will incur about $150,000 in
additional staff costs over two years. Similarly, the California
Building Standards Commission will incur costs of about $40,000
to review and adopt revised standards.
The bill also authorizes the State Water Board to adopt its own
standards and policies with regard to rainwater capture.