As yet another atmospheric river wreaked havoc in California last week, regulators and Governor Gavin Newsom took significant steps in water policy and regulation. On Friday, March 24, the Governor signed an Executive Order announcing the rollback of specific drought-related measures due to the significant improvement in water supplies as a result of this winter’s storms. While the Governor kept in place the drought state of emergency for all counties, he also took action to ease drought-related restrictions. Importantly for special districts, he ended the requirement that local water agencies implement their Level Two drought contingency plans. He also ended his voluntary call, announced in July 2021, for Californians to achieve a 15 percent water conservation target.
The Governor’s Executive Order did not change the following:
- The ban on wasteful water uses, such as watering ornamental grass on commercial properties
- All current emergency orders focused on groundwater supply
- Orders focused on specific watersheds that have not benefited as much from recent rains
State Water Project Allocation
Also on March 24, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced a more than twofold increase of the previous State Water Project allocation of 35 percent set in February. The 29 State Water Contractors in California will now receive 75 percent of their requested supplies, resulting in an additional 1.7 million acre-feet of supply for 27 million California residents. More information about DWR's action is available here.
Call for Comments on “Making Conservation a Way of Life” Regulation
While the above actions were a result of this winter’s significant precipitation events, the long-term “Conservation as a Way of Life” framework continued its development with another milestone achieved. This framework stems from legislation passed in 2018 (AB 1668 and SB 906) that required the adoption of statewide standards for the efficient use of water, including variances for unique uses, performance measures for commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) water use, and guidelines and methodologies that identify how each urban retail water supplier will calculate an urban water use objective. The framework’s development has involved numerous stakeholders and regulators throughout its development.
In September 2022, as required by statute, DWR provided its recommendations on achieving the objectives of the legislation. On March 22, State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) staff gave a presentation regarding the proposed framework. One of the key components of the framework is the development of an Urban Water Use Objective, which is a water consumption target that each urban water supplier will be expected to meet. It will consist of the following factors:
· A standard-based water budget, comprised of:
o residential indoor use
o residential outdoor water use
o commercial, industrial and institutional use with dedicated irrigation meters
o real water loss
· Any applicable variance(s)
· Any applicable bonus incentive(s)
While SWRCB and DWR recommendations were similar in many areas, notable exceptions that may impact special districts included SWRCB’s recommendations regarding recycled water and its use on non-functional turf as well as proposed changes to the recycled water bonus incentive (found on page 7 of the framework). Special districts are encouraged to review this and other provisions of the proposed framework; the comment period ends at noon on Thursday, March 30.
Comment letters should be submitted via email to:
orpp-waterconservation@waterboards.ca.gov.
In May, the formal rulemaking process will begin, and will include a 45-day comment period. The SWRCB Board will consider adoption of the framework in winter 2023-24, with the rule anticipated to become effective in Summer 2024.
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