Amended in Senate April 7, 2015

Senate Bill No. 555

Introduced by Senator Wolk

February 26, 2015

An act to add Section 10608.34 to the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 555, as amended, Wolk. begin delete Department of Water Resources: urban end delete begin insert Urban end insert retail water suppliers: water loss begin delete audits. end delete begin insert management. end insert

Existing law requires the state to achieve a 20% reduction in urban per capita water use in California by December 31, 2020, and requires the state to make incremental progress towards this goal by reducing per capita water use by at least 10% on or before December 31, 2015. Existing law requires each urban retail water supplier to develop urban water use targets and an interim urban water use target, in accordance with specified requirements.

This bill would require each urban retail water supplier, on or before July 1, 2017, begin insert and annually each year thereafter, end insert to conduct a water loss audit as prescribed by rules adopted by the Department of Water Resources on or before July 1, 2016 begin insert , and updated as provided end insert . This bill would require an urban retail water supplier to submit a begin insert completed and end insert validated begin insert water loss end insert audit report begin insert for the previous calendar year end insert to the begin delete department within 60 days of completion and end delete begin insert department, as specified. The bill would require end insert the department to post begin delete the report end delete begin insert all validated water loss audit reports end insert on its Internet Web site begin delete in a timely manner after its receipt. end delete begin insert in a manner that allows for comparisons across water suppliers and to make these reports available for public viewing. end insert This bill would require the department to provide technical assistance to guide urban retail water suppliers’ water loss detection programs. begin insert The bill would require the department, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, to develop metrics for reporting year-over-year progress on water loss reduction and would require the board to adopt rules requiring urban retail water suppliers to meet performance standards for the volume of water losses. end insert

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.  

Section 10608.34 is added to the Water Code, to
read:

10608.34.  

(a)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert On or before July 1, 2016, the department
shall adopt rules for all of the following:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  The conduct of standardized water loss audits by urban retail
water suppliers in accordance with the method adopted by the
American Water Works Association in the third edition of Water
Audits and Loss Control Programs, Manual begin delete --M36. end delete begin insert M36 and in
the Free Water Audit Software, version 5.0. end insert

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  The process for validating begin delete audit reports end delete begin insert a water loss audit
report end insert prior to submitting the report to the department.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  The method and timing of submitting begin delete an end delete begin insert a water loss end insert audit
report to the department.

begin insert

(2) The department shall update rules adopted pursuant to
paragraph (1) every five years and no later than six months after
the release of subsequent editions of the American Water Works
Association’s Water Audits and Loss Control Programs, Manual
M36.

end insert

(b) On or before July 1, 2017, begin insert and annually each year thereafter, end insert
each urban retail water supplier shall begin delete conduct a water loss audit end delete
begin insert submit a completed and validated water loss audit report for the
previous calendar year end insert as prescribed by the department pursuant
to subdivision (a).

begin delete

(c) An urban retail water supplier shall submit a validated audit
report to the department within 60 days of completion. The

end delete begin insert

(c) Each water loss audit report submitted to the department
shall be accompanied by information, in a form specified by the
department, identifying steps taken in the preceding year to
increase the validity of data entered into the final audit, reduce
the volume of apparent losses, and reduce the volume of real losses.

end insert begin insert

(d) At least one of the following employees of an urban retail
water supplier shall attest to each water loss audit report submitted
to the department:

end insert begin insert

(1) The chief financial officer.

end insert begin insert

(2) The chief engineer.

end insert begin insert

(3) The general manager.

end insert begin insert

(e) The department shall deem incomplete and return to the
urban retail water supplier any final water loss audit report found
by the department to be incomplete, not validated, unattested, or
incongruent with known characteristics of water system operations.
A water supplier shall resubmit a completed water loss audit report
within 90 days of an audit being returned by the department.

end insert

begin insert (f) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert department shall post begin delete the report end delete begin insert all validated water loss
audit reports end insert on its Internet Web site in a begin insert manner that allows for
comparisons across water suppliers. The department shall make
the validated water loss audit reports available for public viewing
in a end insert timely manner after begin delete its end delete begin insert their end insert receipt.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert  Using available funds, the department shall provide technical
assistance to guide urban retail water suppliers’ water loss detection
programs, including, but not limited to, metering techniques,
begin insert pressure management techniques, condition-based assessment
techniques for transmission and distribution pipelines, end insert utilization
of portable and permanent water loss detection devices, and
funding.

begin insert

(h) (1) The department, in consultation with the board, shall
develop metrics for reporting year-over-year progress on water
loss reduction.

end insert begin insert

(2) On or before July 1, 2020, the board shall adopt rules
requiring urban retail water suppliers to meet performance
standards for the volume of water losses.

end insert