Governor Davis signs water supply planning bills

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 10, 2001 — Governor Gray Davis has signed legislation to advance water supply planning efforts in the State of California.

SB 221 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) and SB 610 by Senator Jim Costa (D-Fresno) coordinate local water supply and land use decisions to help provide California's cities, farms and rural communities with adequate water supplies.

"Together, these bills provide an important and necessary foundation for developing comprehensive state water policies to prepare California to meet our future water needs," Governor Davis said. "They increase requirements and incentives for urban water suppliers to prepare and adopt comprehensive management plans on a timely basis."

Governor Davis also signed AB 901 by Assembly Member Lynn Daucher (R-Brea) which amends the Urban Water Management Planning Act. It requires urban water suppliers to include information on the quality of water sources in their Urban Water Management Plans.

SB 221 prohibits a city of county form approving a residential subdivision of more than 500 units unless there is written verification that a sufficient water supply is or will be available for the development.

SB 610 closes loopholes that have allowed large-scale development projects to evade existing water supply assessment requirements. It also expands the consequences for urban water suppliers that do not submit and update their urban water management plans. In addition, this bill mandates water supply assessments for all projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act.

In his signing message, Governor Davis said that while these bills are an important step, more needs to be done to address the need for additional supplies and improved infrastructure.

"We must address our water supply and storage needs to ensure that water is not California's next crisis," Governor Davis said. "I am committed to developing a package of water supply actions to provide reliable and affordable water for California."

Governor Davis has pledged his support for funding of CALFED programs in a bill before the U.S. Congress.

In addition, the Governor re-emphasized the need to aggressively pursue infrastructure projects throughout California. He directed the Department of Water Resources to assist local water supply agencies to advance important local projects and identify additional modifications to the Urban Water Management Planning Act to ensure adequate local supply and conservation planning.

On September 20th, Governor Davis signed SB 672 by Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden) which codified the Department of Water Resources process for developing the California Water Plan. The bill requires urban water suppliers to include in their plans, a description of water management tools and options to maximize resources and minimize the need to import water from other regions.

Please link below to view the signing message for SB 221 and SB 610.