BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 664
          Author:   Hertzberg (D)
          Amended:  6/2/15  
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE:  8-0, 4/28/15
           AYES:  Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,  
            Monning, Wolk
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Vidak

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  7-0, 5/28/15
           AYES:  Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen

           SUBJECT:   Water:  urban water management planning


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill requires an urban water supplier to include a  
          seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan for their water  
          system in their urban water management plan.


          ANALYSIS:


          Existing law:


          1)Requires every urban water agency to produce an Urban Water  
            Management Plan (UWMP) every five years.  









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          2)Requires the UWMP include, among other things, an urban water  
            shortage contingency analysis that includes, among other  
            things, actions to be undertaken by the urban water supplier  
            to prepare for, and implement during, a catastrophic  
            interruption of water supplies including, but not limited to,  
            a regional power outage, an earthquake, or other disaster.


            The Department of Water Resources' (DWR) draft guidelines for  
            the next update of UWMPs, state that the catastrophic supply  
            interruption analysis should "[i]dentify what actions will be  
            taken by a water supplier if there is a catastrophic reduction  
            in water supplies."


          This bill:


          1)Requires UWMPs, beginning with UWMPs due in 2020, to also  
            include a seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan, which  
            would assesses the vulnerability of each the various  
            facilities of a water system and a capital improvement plan to  
            mitigate those vulnerabilities.


          2)Allows, but not requires, an agency to comply with this  
            requirement by submitting a copy of an adopted local hazard  
            mitigation plan or multi-hazard mitigation plan as specified  
            in the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P. L. 106-390)  
            provided the local hazard mitigation plan or multi-hazard  
            mitigation plan addresses seismic risk.


          3)Requires the seismic risk assessment and mitigation plan to be  
            updated at the same time the UWMP is updated.


          Comments


          How Vulnerable Are California Water Supplies?  It is not clear.   
          There are studies that show that Delta levees are vulnerable to  
          failure in a significant seismic event.  And undoubtedly some  







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          water agencies have done their own assessment.  However, there  
          does not appear to be any systematic assessment of the seismic  
          risk of the state's water infrastructure.  


          How Expensive Are Seismic Upgrades? For some systems it can be  
          very expensive.  The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission  
          has already spent billions of dollars to seismically upgrade  
          their water system.  And, just recently the Los Angeles  
          Department of Water and Power identified $15 billion in  
          potential need for seismic upgrades to water infrastructure.


          What About Funding?  By including the seismic risk assessment  
          and mitigation plans in UWMPs, those system upgrades can be  
          funded through integrated regional water management plans  
          (IRWMP) and grants.  Proposition 1 provides $510 million for  
          IRWMP grants.


          What Are Local Hazard Mitigation Plans? The Federal Emergency  
          Management Agency (FEMA) provides a variety of types of  
          non-emergency disaster assistance, including funding for  
          mitigation projects.  To qualify, State, tribal and local  
          governments are required to develop a hazard mitigation plan.  
          The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance  
          Act (Public Law 93-288), as amended by the Disaster Mitigation  
          Act of 2000 (P. L. 106-390), provides the legal basis for state,  
          local and tribal governments to undertake a risk-based approach  
          to reducing risks from natural hazards through mitigation  
          planning.  Federal regulations require, among other things, that  
          local plans include the following:


          1)A risk assessment that provides the factual basis for  
            activities proposed in the strategy to reduce losses from  
            identified hazards. Local risk assessments must provide  
            sufficient information to enable the jurisdiction to identify  
            and prioritize appropriate mitigation actions to reduce losses  
            from identified hazards.


          2)A mitigation strategy that provides the jurisdiction's  
            blueprint for reducing the potential losses identified in the  







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            risk assessment, based on existing authorities, policies,  
            programs and resources, and its ability to expand on and  
            improve these existing tools.


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:


           Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Water  
            Resources (DWR) to update their guidelines to reflect the new  
            requirements under this bill.


           Cost pressures in the millions of dollars to various bond  
            funds (General Fund) beginning in 2020 for seismic mitigation  
            projects.




          SUPPORT:   (Verified5/29/15)


          California State Council of Laborers
          East Bay Municipal Utility District


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified5/29/15)


          None received


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     According to the author, "Public  
          policymakers cannot ignore forecasts showing a greater than  
          99-percent chance of a 6.7 earthquake within the next 30 years.  
          Much of California's infrastructure, including key  
          water-delivery systems, remains seismically unsafe and extremely  
          vulnerable.  With California entering the fourth year of the  
          current and serious drought, scientists predict our changing  







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          climate will increase the frequency, length, and severity of  
          droughts in California. The State must prioritize water  
          security."


          "Although California has addressed seismic safety many times,  
          including mandatory retrofits for schools and hospitals,  
          voluntary upgrades, mapping hazardous faults, and cataloguing  
          unsafe buildings, much of California's infrastructure -  
          including key water delivery systems - remains seismically  
          unsafe and extremely vulnerable.  SB 664 will help identify and  
          address seismically vulnerable water infrastructure."


          Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor/ NRW/ (916) 651-4116
          6/2/15 13:24:35


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