BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2230
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2230 (Gatto)
As Introduced February 24, 2012
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 11-1
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Bill Berryhill, | | |
| |Campos, Fong, Beth | | |
| |Gaines, Gatto, | | |
| |Roger Hernández, Hueso, | | |
| |Jones, Lara, Yamada | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires new car washes to reuse at least 60% of the
on-site wash and rinse water unless recycled water is utilized
for washing and rinsing. Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares that the purpose of the bill is to reduce water
consumption by commercial car washes.
2)Defines in-bay and conveyor car washes and requires that
commercial in-bay and conveyor car washes constructed after
January 1, 2014 must:
a) Have recycling systems that reuse 60% of the wash and
rinse water; or,
b) Contract to use recycled water for washing and rinsing.
3)Exempts self-service commercial car washes where the customer
uses a wand to wash his or her own vehicle.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines waste to include sewage and all other waste substances
from human habitation or producing, manufacturing or
processing operations.
AB 2230
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2)Defines recycled water as water which, as a result of the
treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or
a controlled use that would not otherwise occur.
3)Declares it is the policy of the state that the use of potable
domestic water for nonpotable uses is an unreasonable use of
the water if recycled water, which meets specific criteria
including, but not limited to, quality and affordability, is
available.
4)Authorizes any public agency to require the use of recycled
water, if specified conditions are met, for: residential
landscaping; toilet and urinal flushing; and, listed
industrial applications, such as cooling towers and
air-conditioning devices.
5)Requires the state to achieve a 20% reduction in urban per
capita water use in California by December 31, 2020, and
requires each urban retail water supplier to comply with that
target.
6)Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to convene
the Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Task Force (CII
Task Force) in order to provide recommendations, by April 1,
2012, on water use efficiency standards for commercial,
industrial, and institutional use among various sectors.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : This bill would require new commercial in-bay and
conveyor car washes to either utilize systems that reuse 60% of
the wash and rinse water on-site or contract to use recycled
water. An in-bay car wash is one where a car is parked in a bay
and an automated machine or one or more car wash employees clean
the stationary vehicle. A conveyor car wash is one where the
parked vehicle moves on a conveyer belt during the wash.
The author of this bill cites to the CII Task Force draft
report, which estimates that commercial vehicle washes will use
approximately 60,000 acre-feet of water by 2020 and that
statewide requirements for the use of reclaimed water in all new
conveyor and in-bay automatic vehicle wash systems could save up
to 22,877 acre-feet. Supporters of this bill state that water
AB 2230
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recycling and reuse is an important asset within their region's
diverse local resource portfolio, helps bring greater water
supply reliability to Southern California, and prevents the
waste or unreasonable use of water while giving urban water
agencies an opportunity to reduce per capita water consumption
and meet statutory water conservation goals.
This bill exempts self-service commercial car washes because
self-service commercial car washes tend to be used in more
low-income areas and use far less water than in-bay and conveyor
car washes. A report to the International Car Wash Association
that concluded self-service washes use around 15 gallons per
vehicle while in-bay automatic washes use between 50 to 60
gallons per vehicle and conveyor washes from 65.8 to 85.3.
Although the on-site reuse of water described under this bill
does not neatly fit into the existing definition of recycled
water, this bill could still make a substantial contribution to
the goal of conserving and reusing water and reducing the
application of potable domestic water to a nonpotable use. As a
general rule an acre-foot of water in Southern California is the
annual water supply of two typical families. This means that if
the maximum projected water savings of 22,877 acre-feet was
achieved under this bill, it would be the equivalent to the
water supply used by approximately 45,000 families for a year.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0003250