BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Adopt Recommended Positions on State Legislation: SB 1188 (Stern) The California Water Plan; and Other Legislation Which May Require Urgent Consideration for a Position by the Board.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt a position of “Support” on: SB 1188 (Stern) The California Water Plan.
Body
SUMMARY:
SB 1188 (Stern) The California Water Plan. (A-04/08/20)
Position Recommendation: Support
Priority Recommendation: 3
SB 1188 would change the approach to regional water planning in the California Water Plan, from “hydrologic regions” based on the Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bulletin 160 to “regions” created collaboratively by DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) based on the United States Geological Survey’s National Hydrography Dataset.
This bill would also require DWR to include a discussion of various strategies for increasing “regional water reliance” based on a new definition that includes “the ability for people within a region to cope with, and recover from, disruptions, and to anticipate trends and variability in order to maintain services for people and protect the natural environment now and in the future.”
Currently the Department of Water Resources is required to update the California Water Plan every 5 years to allow for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state. The California Water Plan includes analysis and discussion of various strategies related to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, water transfers, and alternative pricing policies that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state.
Importance to Valley Water
SB 1188 seeks to implement Action Item 28.2 of the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio which states: “Broaden the impact of the California Water Plan, required every five years by law, by increasing alignment and coordination between contributing state agencies. Assess progress toward regional water resilience in Water Plan updates. Inventory recurring state-published water-related plans and assess whether each should be continued, modified, consolidated, or discontinued.”
Existing Water Code Section 10013 includes language directing that the California Water Plan “minimize the need to import water from other hydrologic regions.” SB 1188 would bolster the analysis of regional dependence on water sources from other regions of the state. Increased analysis may aid advocacy efforts to address gaps in regional self-reliance through state grant funding and planning assistance. Additional state funding for recycled water, groundwater recharge, surface storage, water efficiency, and water conservation continue to be a primary focus of Valley Water’s state advocacy. The regional analyses proposed by SB 1188 may provide further documentation of our region’s water supply circumstances that drive our advocacy efforts.
Staff recommends that the Board adopt a position of “Support” on SB 1188.
Pros
• May improve regional water planning.
• May create opportunities for the state to fund gaps in regional reliance.
Cons
• Depending on what the analyses of regional reliance show, the findings could create pressures to reduce dependence on imported water.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with this item.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have a potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Rachael Gibson, 408-630-2884