BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1420|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1420
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 4/21/14
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/29/14
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Monning, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Water management: urban water management plans
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires urban water management plans
(UWMPs) to include quantification of water loss in the
distribution system and allows UWMPs to include projected water
savings.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act), every
public and private urban water supplier that directly or
indirectly provides water for municipal purposes to prepare
and adopt an UWMP.
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2. Requires an UWMP to quantify, past and current water use, and
projected water use, identifying the uses among water use
sectors, including among others, commercial, agricultural,
and industrial uses.
3. Requires an urban water supplier to submit copies of its plan
and copies of amendments or changes to the plan to certain
entities, including the Department of Water Resources (DWR).
This bill:
1. Requires that an UWMP quantify, to the extend records are
available, the water loss in the distribution system
beginning with the 2015 plan. Requires the DWR to develop a
worksheet through a public process to guide the
quantification of distribution system water loss.
2. Allows an urban water supplier to account for water savings
it estimates as a result from adopted codes, standards,
ordinances, or transportation and land use plans, when that
information is available and applicable to an urban water
supplier. If the water supplier accounts for such savings,
it must provide citations for the codes, standards,
ordinances, or transportation and land use plans that led to
the projections.
3. Requires the UWMPs, and any amendments to these plans, to be
submitted to the DWR in electronic form.
Background
The Act requires all urban water suppliers to prepare and adopt
an UWMP. These plans must be updated every five years (on years
ending in 5 or 0) and include information such as a description
of the service area of the supplier, identification and quantity
of water resources, and water use projections. An urban water
supplier, in order to be eligible for a water management grant
or loan from the state, must be implementing the water demand
management measures in its UWMP. (Water Code Section 106031.5)
Related Legislation
SB 1036 (Pavley) authorizes the independent technical panel
(ITP) the voluntary energy reporting changes to the Act
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recommended by the ITP.
AB 2067 (Weber) changes the reporting requirements for demand
management measures in UWMPs as recommended by the ITP.
AB 2725 (Brown) requires the description of the water demand
management measure in urban water management plans to include a
description of an urban waterway restoration program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time costs
of $50,000 from the General Fund to the DWR for the development
of a worksheet and update of the UWMP guidebook.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/14)
California Municipal Utilities Association
City of Pasadena
Clean Water Action
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Natural Resources Defense Council
Office of Ratepayer Advocates, California Public Utilities
Commission
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to East Bay Municipal Utility
District, "this bill is intended to enact three recommendations
made by the Department of Water Resources Independent Technical
Panel on Demand management Measures ? By requiring urban water
suppliers to report on distribution system water loss, providing
for electronic submission of UWMPs, and ensuring water suppliers
have the ability to capture and report on water savings from
compliance with codes, SB 1420 would improve the process for
filing UWMPs and update the information they contain to reflect
changing approaches to managing water supply reliability."
RM:d 5/23/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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