BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1420
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Date of Hearing: June 17, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
SB 1420 (Wolk) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : Urban water management plans
SUMMARY : Requires an urban water supplier to quantify and
report distribution system water losses in its urban water
management plan (UWMP), authorizes the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) to require electronic filing of UWMPs, and
directs DWR to develop guidance for estimating water savings
from codes, standards, ordinances, and sustainability plans.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires all urban water suppliers to prepare and adopt UWMPs
and update them every five years. Among other requirements,
UWMPs must:
a) Provide a description of the service area of the
supplier;
b) Identify and quantify water resources; and,
c) Make water use projections.
2)Specifies that compliance with the Urban Water Management
Planning Act is a prerequisite to receiving state funding for
water projects and programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis there would be one-time costs of $50,000 from
the General Fund to DWR for the development of a worksheet and
update of the UWMP guidebook.
COMMENTS : This bill would implement two recommendations of an
Independent Technical Panel (ITP) that was convened to improve
UWMPs. UWMPs are a primary tool for local water suppliers to
make thoughtful projections and orderly plans for meeting the
needs of water users in their service area. They are also the
basis for making water availability determinations under SB 610
(Costa/2001) and SB 221 (Kuehl/2001), which are frequently
referenced as the "show me the water" statutes.
SB 1420
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AB 1420 (Laird/2007), among other things, required DWR to
convene the ITP to provide recommendations to the department and
the Legislature on new demand management measures, technologies,
and approaches. 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 including, but not limited
to, requiring distribution system water loss reporting and
authorizing DWR to require electronic filing of UWMPs in a
standardized form. This bill would implement those
recommendations.
Related Measures : AB 2067 (Weber) would change the reporting
requirements for demand management measures in UWMPs. AB 2067
was heard as a consent item in this Committee on March 25, 2014.
SB 1036 (Pavley) would explicitly authorize voluntary reporting
on projected water savings from codes, standards, ordinances, or
transportation and land use plans affecting an urban water
supplier's service area.
Supporting arguments : Supporters state that this bill "is
intended to enact three recommendations made by the Department
of Water Resources Independent Technical Panel on Demand
Management Measures." Those supporters state that by requiring
urban water suppliers to report on distribution system water
loss, providing for electronic submission of UWMPs, and ensuring
water suppliers have the ability to capture and report on water
savings from compliance with codes, this bill will improve the
process for filing UWMPs and update the information they contain
to reflect changing approaches to managing water supply
reliability.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Public Utilities Commission Office of Ratepayer
Advocates
City of Pasadena
Clean Water Action
East Bay Municipal Utilities District
Natural Resources Defense Council
SB 1420
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Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The Nature Conservancy
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096