BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair SB 1420 (Wolk) - Water management: urban water management plans. Amended: April 21, 2014 Policy Vote: NR&W 9-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: May 23, 2014 Consultant: Marie Liu SUSPENSE FILE. Bill Summary: SB 1420 would require urban water management plans (UWMPs) to include quantification of water loss in the distribution system and would allow UWMPs to include projected water savings. Fiscal Impact: One-time costs of $50,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for the development of a worksheet and update of the UWMP guidebook. Background: The Urban Water Management Planning Act (act) requires all urban water suppliers to prepare and adopt an urban water management plan. These plans must be updated every five years (on years ending in 5 and 0) and include information such as a description of the service area of the supplier, identification and quantity of water resources, and water use projections. Under §16031.5, an urban water supplier, in order to be eligible for a water management grant or loan from the state, must be implementing the water demand management measures in its urban water management plan. Proposed Law: This bill would require that an urban water management plan quantify, to the extent records are available, the water loss in the distribution system beginning with the 2015 plan. DWR would be required to develop a worksheet through a public process to guide the quantification of distribution system water loss. This bill would also allow an urban water supplier to account for water savings it estimates as a result from adopted codes, standards, ordinances, or transportation and land use plans. If the water supplier accounts for such savings, it must provide citations for the codes, standards, ordinances, or SB 1420 (Wolk) Page 1 transportation and land use plans that led to the projections. This bill would require the urban water management plans, and any amendments to these plans, to be submitted to DWR in electronic form. Related Legislation: AB 2067 (Weber) would change the reporting requirements for demand management measures in urban water management plans. AB 2725 (Brown) would require the description of the water demand management measure in urban water management plans to include a description of an urban waterway restoration program. SB 1036 (Pavley) would allow for an urban water management plan to report on the energy intensity of urban water systems. Staff Comments: This bill would necessitate DWR to revise its Urban Water Management Plan Guidebook at a one-time cost of $50,000. Staff notes that this bill, should it become law, would require changes to the 2015 water plan, which is required to be completed by December 31, 2015. To enable locals to meet this deadline, DWR will need to finish its update of the guidebook shortly after the effective date of this bill. Allowing electronic submission of the plans does not necessarily impose a cost on DWR so long as DWR is only receiving the information electronically. If DWR desired to create a searchable database or create an online portal for plans, DWR could have substantial information technology costs. However, such a system is not required by the bill.