BILL NUMBER: AB 1755 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 1, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dodd
FEBRUARY 2, 2016
An act to add Part 4.9 (commencing with Section 12400) to Division
6 of the Water Code, relating to water data.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1755, as amended, Dodd. The Open and Transparent Water Data
Act.
Existing law imposes on the Department of Water Resources various
duties with respect to water in the state. Under existing law, the
State Water Resources Control Board administers a water rights
program pursuant to which the state board grants permits and licenses
to appropriate water. Existing law regulates water transfers and
authorizes a permittee or licensee to change the point of diversion,
place of use, or purpose of use due to a transfer or exchange of
water or water rights if certain conditions are met.
This bill would enact the Open and Transparent Water Data Act. The
act would require the department department,
by January 1, 2018, to establish a public benefit
corporation that would create and manage (1) create,
operate, and maintain a statewide integrated water
information system to improve the ability of the state to
meet the growing demand for water supply reliability and healthy
ecosystems, data platform that, among things,
would integrate existing water and ecological data
information from multiple databases and (2) an online water
transfer information clearinghouse to report on water transactions
that would include a database with information provide
data on completed water transfers, a public forum to
exchange information on water market issues, and information to
assist proponents with the water transfer approval processes.
transfers and exchanges.
The act would require the department, the state board, and the
Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop protocols for data
sharing, documentation, quality control, public access, and promotion
of open source open-source platforms
and decision support tools related to water data and to submit to the
Legislature a report on those protocols. The act would specify that
a recipient of state funds for research or projects relating to the
improvement of water data shall adhere to those protocols or be
ineligible for state funding.
The act would create the Water Information System
Data Administration Fund. The act would specify
that moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation, to
the department department, the state board,
and the Department of Fish and Wildlife for the improvement of
water data and for the certain other
purposes of the act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 4.9 (commencing with Section 12400) is added to
Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:
PART 4.9. The Open and Transparent Water Data Act
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
12400. This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Open
and Transparent Water Data Act.
12401. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The recent drought reveals that California needs a
real-time, accessible statewide water information system
to integrate existing water and ecological data into an
authoritative open -access platform to help water
managers operate California's water system more effectively and help
water users make informed decisions based on water availability and
allocation.
(b) California has a number of databases containing information on
hydrology, biology, water quality, the physical environment, and
water rights and use. The passage of the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720)) will
result in more data on groundwater use and availability.
Unfortunately, current water data is often challenging to obtain,
outdated, and not always readily available to water managers and the
public due to its collection by numerous entities and storage in
disparate databases that often rely on tools that do not keep pace
with technological advances.
(c) The need to account for California's water is essential, yet
water managers must make decisions about water resources while
relying on outdated and incomplete information. A greater
understanding of and ability to access existing water data will
support more timely and science-based decisions related to water
planning, water allocations, water transfers, and water use
efficiency that will lead California to a more sustainable water
future.
(d) On October 2, 2015, the Delta Stewardship Council released a
white paper entitled "Enhancing the Vision for Managing California's
Environmental Information." The white paper and the Environmental
Data Summit were a collaborative effort of the Delta Stewardship
Council and its Delta Science Program, the Department of Water
Resources, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, the State
Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife,
the San Francisco Estuary Institute, the State and Federal
Contractors Water Agency, and 34 North. The white paper recommended
four necessary actions to achieve the goal of streamlining the
collaboration of huge amounts of environmental data between various
state and federal agencies and identified the need for new policies
for managing California's large amounts of data: development of a
system where data could be accessed from a centralized source,
implementing new methods for clear documentation of existing data,
and developing business models that will better facilitate the
management of data.
(e) The California Water Plan Update 2013, Volume 1, Chapter 6,
entitled "Integrated Data and Analysis: Informed and Transparent
Decision-Making," describes key actions needed to improve water
resources information and analysis for integrated water management
and urges agencies that collect data to work together to prioritize
and align water resources information that is collected by multiple
agencies.
(f) The California Water Action Plan recognizes the need to take
bold action to transfer the state's water management system to face
the challenges of the 21st century. Climate change, population
growth, and vulnerable ecosystems create greater uncertainty in
future water availability. To address these challenges California
needs to do both of the following:
(1) Invest in a 21st century water management system that can
adapt to wide variations in rainfall.
(2) Safeguard and restore California's freshwater ecosystems so
they can withstand variations in climate and competing demands for
water.
(g) Standards for transparent access to data have changed with the
public demanding real-time information on demand. However, the
demand for available data currently outstrips the ability to deliver
information to water managers and the public.
(h) Clear data standards and protocols help to promote
compatibility among datasets, allowing for sharing, aggregation, and
analysis by multiple groups.
(i) Metadata summarizes basic information about data, which can
make finding and working with particular data easier. Clear
documentation of metadata avoids misunderstandings, reduces disputes,
and increases the effectiveness of management decisions.
(b) State and federal leadership, increased awareness by business,
governmental, and nongovernmental organizations through open and
transparent access to data, and improved technology and availability
of open-source platforms create a unique opportunity that California
should seize upon to integrate and increase access to existing water
data.
(c) California is working to increase access to water data
collected by state agencies. The state board is piloting a project to
make water quality datasets available online through an open data
portal. The portal creates an opportunity to foster collaboration
among state agencies, share and integrate existing datasets, improve
state agency operations through data-driven decisionmaking, and
improve transparency and accountability.
(d) State agencies should promote openness and interoperability of
water data. Making information accessible, discoverable, and usable
by the public can foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and scientific
discovery.
(j)
( e) Water data and research that is
gathered using state funds should be made publicly accessible. State
delegation of data management to contractors should not result in the
public losing access to its own information.
(k)
(f) The availability of cheap and
open-source tools could help produce an makes
it easier to access and explore water and ecological data and could
facilitate the creation of an online integrated
water transfer information clearinghouse
data platform without the need to create an
expensive new centralized database.
( l ) An effective water market is one of
several water management tools needed to improve the state's water
supply reliability.
12402. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this part:
(a) "Clearinghouse" means the online water transfer information
clearinghouse created pursuant to Section 12415.
(b)
(a) "Department" means the Department of Water
Resources.
(c)
(b) "Metadata" means data that describes data.
(d) "NGO" means a nongovernmental organization.
(c) "Platform" means the statewide integrated water data platform
described in Section 12415.
(e)
(d) "State board" means the State Water Resources
Control Board.
(f) "Water information system" means the statewide water
information system created pursuant to Section 12410.
CHAPTER 2. PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION PARTICIPATION
STATEWIDE WATER DATA INTEGRATION
Article 1. General Provisions
12405. (a) The department shall establish a public benefit
corporation to house, manage, and oversee the statewide water
information system created pursuant to Section 12410 and the online
water transfer information clearinghouse created pursuant to Section
12415.
(b) The public benefit corporation may, notwithstanding any other
law and not subject to otherwise applicable provisions of the
Government Code and Public Contract Code, operate the water
information system and the clearinghouse on its own, through a third
party, or by engaging the services of private consultants,
educational institutions, and NGOs to render professional and
technical assistance with and advice for carrying out creation and
management activities.
(c) To the extent permitted by federal law, the public benefit
corporation may receive gifts, grants, or donations of moneys from
any agency of the federal government, any agency of the state, or any
municipality, county, or other political subdivision thereof, or
from any individual, association, foundation, or corporation for
achieving any of the purposes of this part. These moneys shall be
deposited in the Water Information System Administration Fund created
pursuant to Section 12425.
12405. The department, the state board, and the
Department of Fish and Wildlife shall coordinate and integrate
existing water and ecological data from local, state, and federal
agencies. The purposes for integrating water and ecological data are
to provide adequate information to implement the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section
10720)), improve the management of the state's water resources, and
bring greater transparency to water transfers and the market.
12406. (a) The department, the state board, and the Department of
Fish and Wildlife shall develop protocols for data sharing,
documentation, quality control, public access, and promotion of
open-source platforms and decision support tools related to water
data. The agencies shall develop and submit to the Legislature, in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code and before the
establishment of a statewide integrated water data platform pursuant
to Section 12410, a report describing these protocols. The report
shall be developed in collaboration with relevant federal agencies
and interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to,
technology and open data experts and water data users.
(b) Grant recipients for research or projects relating to the
improvement of water data that receive state funds shall adhere to
the protocols developed by state agencies pursuant to subdivision (a)
for data sharing, transparency, documentation, and quality control.
(c) A researcher or grant recipient that does not comply with
subdivision (b) is not eligible for state funding until the
researcher or grant recipient complies with those requirements.
Article 2. Statewide Integrated Water Data Platform Creation
12410. (a) The department shall create, operate, and maintain a
statewide integrated water data platform in accordance with Section
12415 by January 1, 2018.
(b) The department may partner with an existing nonprofit
organization, or with a new nonprofit organization that the
department creates, organized under paragraph (3) of subsection (c)
of Section 501 of Title 26 of the United States Code, or may partner
with another state agency, to create, operate, and maintain the
platform.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department may enter into
an agreement with an existing nonprofit organization, or with a new
nonprofit organization that the department creates, organized under
paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Section 501 of Title 26 of the
United States Code, for that nonprofit organization to create,
operate, and maintain the platform.
(d) A nonprofit organization that participates in creating,
operating, or maintaining the platform may receive public funds,
court-ordered mitigation funds, or other funds to assist in carrying
out the responsibilities for integrating and managing existing water
and ecological data as described in Section 12415.
Article 2. 3. Statewide
Integrated Water Information System
Data Platform Features
12410. (a) The public benefit corporation established pursuant to
Section 12405 shall establish a statewide water information system
to improve the ability of the state to meet the growing demand for
water supply reliability and healthy ecosystems. The public benefit
corporation shall create the water information system in
collaboration with state and federal agencies, water data users, and
water experts.
(b) The water information system
1241 5. The statewide integrated water
data platform created pursuant to Section 12410 shall, at a
minimum, do all of the following:
(1)
(a) Integrate existing water and ecological
data information from multiple autonomous databases managed by
federal, state, and local agencies and academia using consistent and
standardized formats.
(2)
(b) Integrate, at a minimum, the following datasets:
(A)
(1) The department's information on State Water Project
reservoir operations, groundwater use, and groundwater levels
through California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring
(CASGEM), urban water use, and land use.
(B)
(2) The state board's data on water rights, water
diversions, and water quality through California Environmental Data
Exchange Network (CEDEN).
(C)
(3) The Department of Fish and Wildlife's information
on fish abundance and distribution.
(D)
(4) The United States Geological Survey's streamflow
conditions information through the National Water Information System.
(E)
(5) The United States Bureau of Reclamation's federal
Central Valley Project operations information.
(F)
(6) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service's,
United States Forest Service's, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Fisheries' fish abundance information.
(c) Provide data on completed water transfers and exchanges,
including publicly available or voluntarily provided data on the
volume, price, and delivery method, identity of the buyers and
sellers, and the water right associated with the transfer or
exchange.
(3) Incorporate
(d) Provide clear and careful
documentation of data quality and data formats through metadata.
(4)
(e) Adhere to data protocols developed by state
agencies pursuant to Section 12420. 12406.
(5)
(f) Be able to receive both spatial and time series
data from various sources.
(6)
(g) Enable custom dashboards, visualizations, graphing,
and analysis.
Article 3. Online Water Transfer Information Clearinghouse
12415. (a) The public benefit corporation established pursuant to
Section 12405 shall establish an online water transfer information
clearinghouse to report on water transactions that shall include all
of the following:
(1) A database with information on completed water transfers.
(2) A public forum to exchange information on water market issues.
(3) Information to assist proponents with the water transfer
approval processes.
(b) The public benefit corporation shall not arrange, coordinate,
negotiate, or approve proposed water transfers through the online
water transfer information clearinghouse.
(c) The public benefit corporation shall not publish information
about proposed water transfers, except for information published by
the state board or other government agency, including, but not
limited to, information publicly available on a government agency
Internet Web site.
CHAPTER 3. STATE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES
12420. (a) The department, the state board, and the Department of
Fish and Wildlife shall develop an open, transparent process to
develop protocols for data sharing, documentation, quality control,
public access, and promotion of open source platforms and decision
support tools related to water data. The agencies shall develop and
submit to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the
Government Code and before the establishment of a statewide water
information system pursuant to Section 12410, a report describing
these processes and protocols.
(b) Grant recipients for research or projects relating to the
improvement of water data that receive state funds shall adhere to
the protocols developed by state agencies pursuant to subdivision (a)
for data sharing, transparency, documentation, and quality control.
(c) A researcher or grant recipient that does not comply with
subdivision (b) is not eligible for state funding until the
researcher or grant recipient complies with those requirements.
CHAPTER 4. 3. WATER
INFORMATION SYSTEM DATA ADMINISTRATION FUND
12425. 12420. The Water
Information System Data Administration Fund is
hereby created. All moneys in the fund are available, upon
appropriation, to the department department,
the state board, or the Department of Fish and Wildlife for the
improvement of water data, including installing stream
gauges and maintaining stream gauge networks, and for the purposes of
this part, including, but not limited to, maintaining surface water
and groundwater monitoring networks, establishing and operating the
public benefit corporation created data, for entering
into an agreement with, or establishing, a nonprofit organization
pursuant to Section 12405, 12410, or
creating, operating, or maintaining and updating
the statewide integrated water
information system and online water transfer information
clearinghouse, data platform described in Section
12415, including the cost to verify data, and modernizing water
information databases.
12421. (a) (1) The department, the state board, or the Department
of Fish and Wildlife may enter into an agreement to accept funds or
services from any person, educational institution, government entity,
corporation or other business entity, or organization for the
maintenance, development, improvement, or enhancement of a designated
agencies' data, decision support tools, or information technology
projects. Under the direction of the respective agency, the funds or
services received shall supplement, but not replace, existing
resources for the maintenance, development, improvement, or
enhancement of designated agency data, decision support tools, or
information technology systems. The respective agency and the
sponsoring or donating person, entity, government, or organization
shall specify in the agreement the level of service that is to be
performed.
(b) Funds received pursuant to this section shall be deposited in
the Water Data Administration Fund created pursuant to Section 12420.