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: SB 1173 HEARING DATE: March 23, 2010
AUTHOR: Wolk URGENCY: No
VERSION: As Introduced CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: Environmental QualityFISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Recycled water.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution requires the
prevention of waste or unreasonable use of water. It further
provides that the right to water does not extend to water that
is wasted or unreasonably used.
Under current law, the use of potable domestic water for
non-potable purposes is a waste or unreasonable use within the
meaning of Article X, Section 2, if recycled water is available
that meets specific conditions. Those conditions include that
the recycled water is of adequate quality, is furnished at a
reasonable cost, that it meets public health requirements, will
not adversely affect downstream water rights, and will not
degrade the environment.
Consequently, if recycled water is available that meets the
conditions established in statute and a water user instead uses
potable water, the water rights associated with the potable
water are at risk for violating Article X, Section 2.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would extend the application of Article X, Section 2
to the use of any non-recycled water if recycled water is
available that meets the statutory conditions.
The bill also makes numerous legislative findings regarding the
benefits of recycled water.
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "Recycled water has been identified as
one of the most promising potential sources of new water
supplies to meet the growing water needs of California. Use of
recycled water is particularly beneficial because its use frees
up water for treatment and use as drinking water or it provides
an alternative to increasing diversions from sensitive
ecosystems such as the Delta and over-drafted groundwater
basins."
"State law currently encourages the use of recycled water for
industrial, landscape and other non-potable uses, in place of
the use of potable water supplies. In some cases, however, raw
water, rather than potable water is used for industrial cooling
and other non-potable uses. Unfortunately, while the use of
recycled water would provide similar benefits if used to replace
the demand of these non-potable uses, current law does not cover
the replacement of raw water with recycled water."
"This bill simply extends current law to encourage the use of
recycled water in place of raw water in addition to potable
water. With this extension, we can ensure that recycled water
use is maximized and that raw water can be re-directed for
treatment and use for potable needs or left in the river or
aquifer for environmental or storage purposes."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None
COMMENTS
Non-Recycled Water. There are many types of "non-recycled"
water. These include not only potable water, but raw or
untreated water, grey water, stormwater, etc. According to the
author's office, the purpose of the bill is to address a
situation where a water supplier is providing raw water for
non-potable uses when recycled water is available of suitable
quality, cost, etc. If this is the problem, the use of the term
"non-recycled" water is unnecessarily broad. Instead, the bill
should focus solely on raw and potable water for municipal and
industrial uses.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
Add a definition of "Raw Water" to mean "surface water or
groundwater that has not been treated."
Amend the bill to replace "non-recycled water" with "raw or
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potable water" throughout the bill and make other associated
conforming changes (See attached mock-up).
SUPPORT
None Received
OPPOSITION
None Received
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