BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2013-2014 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 2067 HEARING DATE: June 10, 2014
AUTHOR: Weber URGENCY: No
VERSION: June 3, 2014 CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Urban Water Management Plans.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Under the Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act), all urban
water suppliers are required to prepare and adopt an urban water
management plan. Updated every five years, the plans include,
among other things, a description of the service area of the
supplier, the identity and quantity of water resources, and
water use projections. The next update is due December 31,
2016. Urban water management plans (UWMPs) help inform the
public about the water challenges faced by their local water
supplier and the suppliers' plans for addressing those
challenges. They are also the basis for making water
availability determinations under the "show us the water"
statutes (SBs 610 & 221 of 2001). Compliance with the Act is a
requirement to receive state funding.
AB 1420 (Laird/2007), among other things, required the
Department of Water Resources (DWR) to convene an independent
technical panel (ITP) to provide information and recommendations
to the department and the Legislature on new demand management
measures, technologies, and approaches. The panel was to be
convened by January 1, 2009, and is required to report to the
Legislature no later than January 1, 2010, and every five years
thereafter.
In February 2014, the ITP issued its Report to the Legislature
on Urban Water Management Plan Demand Management Measures
Reporting and Requirements. The report made five
recommendations for improving UWMPs. Recommendation #1 was
"Amend the Urban Water Management Planning Act to Simplify and
Update the Demand Management Measure Reporting Requirements."
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PROPOSED LAW
This bill would amend the Urban Water Management Planning Act to
simplify and update the demand management measure reporting
requirements in a manner consistent with the recommendations of
the ITP.
It would also delay the due date for UWMPs from December 31,
2015 by six months to July 1, 2016.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the Association of California Water Agencies
(ACWA), "The current list of 14 demand management measures
required by the Urban Water Management Plans is outdated and
unnecessary. There have been many technological advancements
over the last decade that have made many of the reporting
requirements obsolete. AB 2067 would implement a streamlined
approach to reporting the actions taken by an urban water
supplier to conserve water with the ability to report new
innovative approaches under the 'other' category."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None
COMMENTS
Delay is to aid compliance with 20x2020 . A part of the 2009
water package required that urban water agencies reduce their
per capita water use by 20% by the year 2020. Urban water
suppliers were further required to report on their progress in
meeting that goal through the year 2015 in the 2015 update of
their UWMPs. A number of agencies assert that they need more
time to gather and process data to more accurately reflect their
progress towards 20x2020 in their 2015 UWMP. This bill would
give them 6 more months.
Might need chaptering amendments. This bill and SB 1420 (Wolk)
amend the same section of the Water Code. Should both bills
pass to their respective second house's floor, the authors
should consider double-jointing amendments.
Related Measures.
SB 1036 (Pavley) - would explicitly authorize the voluntary
energy reporting changes to the Urban Water Management
Planning Act recommended by the ITP.
SB 1420 (Wolk) - would implement recommendations #2 - #4 of
the Independent Technical Panel.
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SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None
SUPPORT
Association of California Water Agencies
California Municipal Utilities Association
City of Pasadena
Desert Water Agency
East Bay Municipal Utility District
El Dorado Irrigation District
Friends of the River (if amended)
La Puente Valley County Water District
Newhall County Water District
Pico Water District
Roland Water District
San Diego County Water Authority
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
OPPOSITION
None Received
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