COURT NEWS: California Water Board Introduces New Efficiency Rules ~ MAVEN NOTEBOOK

The new rules will cover about 400 water agencies across the Golden State.

By Alan Riquelmy, Courthouse News Service

Water agencies in California must make changes to increase efficiency after the state water board on Wednesday approved regulations under Making Conservation a California Way of Life.

The new rules, stemming from two bills passed in 2018, will affect about 400 water agencies in the state, which together provide water to 95% of California residents. Smaller water agencies and households are not affected by the rules, although the impact is expected to be ripple-based.

The regulations are aimed at four goals: wise water management, eliminating water waste, improving local drought protection, and increasing efficiency and drought planning in the context of agricultural water use.

The rulemaking process began about a year ago. The new rules go into effect on January 1, 2025.

“It’s not a perfect regulation,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chairman of the State Water Resources Control Board. “We’ll never have a perfect regulation.”

Still, Esquivel said, the legislation the board passed Wednesday is significant.

Climate change is making the state’s dry and rainy seasons more intense, while hot, dry summers are depleting snowpack and harming water supplies. Action is needed to increase the state’s water resources, harness new resources and encourage greater productivity.

The state water board said the water conservation is part of California’s water strategy, which aims to address a 10 percent decline in water supplies by 2040 due to warmer, drier weather.

Current actions, along with Making Conservation a California Way of Life regulations, are estimated to save about 500,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2040, which would provide water for more than 1.4 million households.

Water suppliers covered by the new rules will have to meet a number of criteria. One of the suppliers’ goals is to persuade people to use water more wisely. Methods to achieve this goal could include information campaigns, higher water rates or rebates for replacing inefficient devices.

Agencies also have customized water reduction targets they must meet over the years. They can be fined for failing to meet the targets. Some agencies are already reaching their standards.

According to water board staff, 31% of affected water agencies will see no reductions at all under their 2040 requirements. Another 21% will face reductions of between 10% and 20%, and 12% will see reductions of more than 30%.

The changes come at a cost. While many speakers at Wednesday’s meeting praised some aspects of the rules, they questioned others.

Yasmeen Nubani of the Twentynine Palms Water District said she anticipates it will cost her agency between $300,000 and $900,000 to comply.

Clark Elliott, an environmental specialist at the Desert Water Agency, said the regulations are an improvement on previous designs, although he said problems still exist. Elliott worried that disadvantaged communities would face greater pressure as regulatory costs accumulate over the years.

“The actions we take in the future will speak louder than the words we say in this room today,” Elliott said.

Amy Talbot, water efficiency program manager for the Sacramento-Area Regional Water Authority, said her coalition has already seen a 23 percent drop in demand while the population has grown by 15 percent.

Talbot said the next three to five years will be crucial as agencies must then assess the feasibility of meeting those requirements.

“I’m sure there will be some unexpected results along the way,” she added.

Chelsea Haines of the Association of California Water Agencies was among several people who said she appreciated the work and public process that went into crafting the rules. She also called the implementation of the rules a “significant step up.”

Haines said success will be measured by how well the rules are followed.

“This is just the beginning of a process that will last for decades,” she added.