BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1607
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
AB 1607 (Galgiani) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
SUBJECT : Inventory of local water supply projects
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to
inventory local water supply projects by July 1, 2013 and post
information to the internet regarding their expected date of
completion, cost, and potential annual water supply benefits.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires DWR to submit an annual report to the Legislature
that includes the expenditures and positions made and expected
to be made on behalf of the State Water Resources Development
System, including those related to the Bay Delta Conservation
Plan process (BDCP).
2)Requires DWR to plan for the orderly and coordinated control,
protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the
water resources of the state (Water Plan) and to update the
plan every five years.
3)Requires DWR, for every California Water Plan update, to
conduct a study of the amounts of water needed to meet the
state's future needs and to recommend programs, policies and
facilities to meet those needs.
4)Requires DWR, for every Water Plan update, to consult with an
advisory committee that includes representatives of
agricultural and urban water suppliers, local government,
business, production agriculture, environmental interests, and
other interested parties.
5)Provides DWR with supervision and maintenance authority over
all California dams that are over 25 feet high or hold 50 acre
feet or more of water. Dams that are less than 6 feet,
regardless of storage capacity are excluded as are dams of
less than 15 acre-feet capacity, regardless of height.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
AB 1607
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COMMENTS : The Water Plan, also known as Bulletin 160, takes a
comprehensive look at the water supply needs of the state. The
most recent version, in 2009, reviewed multiple strategies for
integrated water management including reducing water demand,
improving operational efficiencies and transfers, increasing
water supply, improving water quality, practicing resource
stewardship, and improving flood management.
The 2009 Water Plan water supply strategies included conjunctive
management of surface water and groundwater, desalination,
precipitation enhancement, recycled water and regional and local
surface storage. A Reference Guide was part of the 2009 Water
Plan and included an inventory of surface water investigations.
That inventory provided the name of the project, the projected
water supply, ecosystem and water quality benefits and the
projected cost. The Reference Guide also summarized, based on
most recent date of completion, all existing California
reservoirs of 10,000 acre-feet or greater. DWR keeps an updated
inventory of all reservoirs meeting those criteria because it
has certain regulatory oversight responsibilities for dams over
25 feet high or that hold 50 acre-feet or more of water. DWR
lists those structures in a publication entitled Bulletin 17.
The most recent version of Bulletin 17, updated in 2000, gives
the names, location, capacity, and area of 1,231 California
dams.
In addition to DWR's state agency responsibilities to inventory
and track water supply structures and strategies, many local
entities have their own inventories and evaluations. In 2002 SB
1672 (Costa) enacted the Integrated Regional Water Management
Planning (IRWMP) Act. That IRWMP Act recognized that water is a
valuable natural resource in California and should be managed to
ensure the availability of sufficient supplies to meet the
state's agricultural, domestic, industrial, and environmental
needs. The IRWMP Act encouraged local agencies to work
cooperatively to manage their available local and imported water
supplies to improve the quality, quantity, and reliability of
those supplies. Following passage of the IRWMP Act, bond
funding for many categories of water projects and programs have
been tied to a local agency having an adopted and implemented
plan that meets the IRWMP Act.
Supporting Arguments : The author states that DWR is required to
prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the State
Water Resources Development System budget, including Bay-Delta
AB 1607
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Conservation Plan contracts. The author believes it is in "the
State's best interest to know what regional water supply
projects are currently under development in order to capitalize
on any opportunities to bring additional supply faster and
cheaper."
It is clear that DWR already compiles a tremendous amount of
information regarding the State's water picture, including
facilities. What is less clear is how requiring DWR to engage
in a potentially costly exercise of determining what local water
supply projects are "under development" would or should help
bring those projects to fruition. DWR does keep records for
potential state water supply projects and some local projects.
But local agencies are much better equipped to identify the
portfolio of local projects they believe will meet their
regional water supply, water quality and environmental needs in
the most cost-effective way and to include the projects that
make the most sense in their IRWMP. This bill's emphasis on
state agency-driven inventory costs, completion dates, and
projected acre-feet of water only tells part of the story and,
as such, is potentially inconsistent with the integrated
regional water management approach.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096