BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1755 (Dodd) - The Open and Transparent Water Data Act
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|Version: August 1, 2016 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 8 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1755 requires the Department of Water Recourses
(DWR), in consultation with the State Water Resources Control
Board (SWRCB), the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and
the California Water Quality Monitoring Council (CWQMC) to
create and maintain a statewide integrated water data platform
by August 1, 2020, based on a specified schedule.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs between $750,000 and $1.5 million to DWR to
develop the data platform, plus annual staffing costs of $1.6
million to maintain and continue to develop the platform as it
grows (General Fund).
Unknown, potentially significant, costs to CDFW to consult
with DWR on required protocols, the required report, and the
data platform.
Unknown, potentially significant, costs to SWRCB to consult
with DWR on required protocols, the required report, and the
AB 1755 (Dodd) Page 1 of
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data platform.
Unknown, potentially significant, costs to CWQMC to consult
with DWR on required protocols, the required report, and the
data platform.
Background: The authority to acquire information technology (IT) goods and
services in state government is spread over three agencies.
The Department of Finance (Finance) is responsible for review
and approval of funding related to IT project proposals.
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has broad
responsibility and authority to guide the application of
information technology (IT) in California State Government.
CDT's areas of responsibility include policymaking,
interagency coordination, IT budget and procurement review,
technical assistance, and advocacy.
The Department of General Services (DGS) is generally
responsible for the acquisition of all IT goods and services.
DGS also has statutory authority to delegate IT purchasing
authority to those departments demonstrating the capability to
make purchases that adhere to state statutes, regulations,
policies, and procedures.
According to the Department of Water Resources, they have
delegated authority for IT goods and services costing up to $2
million.
State agencies frequently develop and maintain data regarding
their activities and compliance with regulations. For example:
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The DWR maintains data associated with the State Water Project
(SWP), groundwater monitoring, urban water management, and
land use.
The SWRCB maintains data associated with water rights, water
diversions, and water quality.
The CDFW maintains data associated with fish populations and
locations.
Proposed Law:
This bill would enact the Open and Transparent Water Data Act.
Specifically, it would:
1)Require DWR, the SWRCB, and the CDFW to "coordinate and
integrate existing water and ecological data from local,
state, and federal agencies."
2)Requires DWR, in consultation with the CWQMC, SWRCB, and the
CDFW, to develop and submit to the legislature protocols for
data sharing, documentation, quality control, and public
access by January 1, 2018.
3)Conditions the receipt of grant fund is on adherence to the
protocols established
4)Requires DWR, in consultation with the CWQMC, SWRCB, and the
CDFW, to create and maintain a statewide integrated water data
platform by August 1, 2020, based on a specified schedule.
5)Delegates the CDT's role over implementation of IT projects to
DWR.
6)Specifies that the integrated water data platform must, among
other things, do the following:
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o 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.
o Integrate, at a minimum, the following datasets:
§ The DWR's information on the SWP reservoir
operations, groundwater use, and groundwater levels
through California Statewide Groundwater Elevation
Monitoring (CASGEM), urban water use, and land use.
§ The SWRCB's data on water rights, water
diversions, and water quality through California
Environmental Data Exchange Network (CEDEN).
§ The CDFW's information on fish abundance
and distribution.
§ The United States Geological Survey's
streamflow conditions information through the
National Water Information System.
§ The United States Bureau of Reclamation's
federal Central Valley Project operations
information.
§ The United States Fish and Wildlife
Service's, United States Forest Service's, and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Fisheries' fish abundance information.
o Provide data on completed water transfers and
exchanges, including publicly available or voluntarily
provided data on the volume, price, and delivery method,
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identity of the buyers and sellers, and the water right
associated with the transfer or exchange.
o Provide clear and careful documentation of data
quality and data formats through metadata.
o Adhere to data protocols developed by state
agencies pursuant to Section 12406.
o Be able to receive both spatial and time series data
from various sources.
o Enable custom dashboards, visualizations, graphing,
and analysis.
Related Legislation: AB 2304 (Levine, 2016) would have
established the California Water Market Clearinghouse within the
California Natural Resources Agency to enhance access to
voluntary water market transactions. This bill was set for
hearing in Assembly Appropriations Committee, but was held at
the request of the author.
Staff
Comments:1) Purpose. California keeps numerous data sets on water from
urban use to environmental use and everything in between. Those
data sets are not coordinated and as a result do not produce a
complete water information picture. The value of these numerous
data sets is diminished by the fact that they are piecemeal and
while they may address overlapping problems of supply, use, and
efficiency, they are only valuable to the extent they touch on
any specific area.
Having all water data in the state compiled and publicly
available in a useable fashion would drive water policy
innovation and likely produce many of the benefits that robust
useable data have had on energy policy.
According to the author, this bill improves access to water data
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by creating a statewide information system to integrate critical
water data in a user friendly, publicly accessible website to
simplify and expedite decision-making.
Costs for consultation. Amendments were taken to require
relevant departments to consult with DWR for specified
activities rather than completing the required activities
individually. While this may in certain circumstances reduce
costs, it is unclear to what extent given each agency's unique
expertise.
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