General Manager Supports Cost-Saving Conservation Legislation in Sacramento
SB 1330 Would Ease Impact of Water Efficiency Mandates
July 8, 2024 — Rowland Water District (RWD) General Manager Tom Coleman spoke before the California State Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife on June 25, 2024, supporting SB 1330. The bill, co-sponsored by RWD, Walnut Valley Water District and Bellflower-Somerset Mutual Water Company, would ease the burden for water suppliers facing new water conservation mandates.
The State Water Resources Control Board has developed regulations to implement two 2018 laws requiring urban retail water suppliers to reduce residential and commercial water use. The framework is called “Making Water Conservation a Way of Life.” Complying with these regulations poses costly challenges for water suppliers and their customers with compliance estimated by the State Board to cost nearly $5 billion statewide. This would conserve about 235,000 acre-feet of water annually by 2050—or less than one percent of the State’s water usage.
“Our district alone has reduced 27% of our water demand over the past decade. The proposed State Board regulations will require us to reduce water use by an additional 29% for a 50% reduction in water use compared to 2013,” Coleman explained to the Assembly.
SB 1330 provides flexibility for water suppliers and financial relief for their ratepayers. It extends deadlines for regulatory compliance, allowing agencies to educate customers and implement effective monitoring programs. Landscape area data would be developed by the California Department of Water Resources every 5 years instead of requiring water suppliers to update data annually, reducing staffing demands while maintaining important research collection.
“Our goal is to improve data collection and analytics and refine methodologies and approaches to implement a conservation program over time that costs less for all water ratepayers, especially those that reside in disadvantaged communities where water affordability is already a concern,” Coleman said to the Assembly.
A report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), which provides fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature, bolsters legislation to provide suppliers more time and greater flexibility to meet the mandates. The report noted that proposed regulations under the “Making Water Conservation a Way of Life” framework created challenges for water suppliers, “in many cases without compelling justifications.” For example, performance measures for commercial customers are unnecessarily complex and administratively burdensome. The report notes that stringent standards for outdoor use could leave little “wiggle room” for compliance.
“Both Senate Bill 1330 and the final regulation will provide water suppliers the time needed to collaborate with their customers to achieve meaningful water savings while considering cost affordability and suppliers’ good faith efforts on their part to meet water use objectives,” Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), who introduced SB 1330, said to the Assembly.
SB 1330 passed the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee on an 11-0 vote with amendments on June 25, 2024, and will be heard in Appropriations Committee in early August.
Learn more at rwd.org.