Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the state of California to achieve a 10 percent reduction in urban per capita water use by December 31, 2015 and a 20 percent reduction by December 21, 2020, and requires urban retail water suppliers to establish and meet specific targets in order to achieve this statewide goal.

Highlights:

-Requires urban retail water suppliers to establish and meet specific urban water use targets, including interim targets, by December 31, 2010, and authorizes suppliers to adopt one of the following methods for determining it's target (Sec. 1):

-80 percent of the urban retail water supplier's baseline per capita daily water use; -Per capita daily water use that is estimated using the sum of the following performance standards:
-For indoor use, 55 gallons per capita daily water use; -For landscape irrigation through dedicated or residential meters, the water efficiency equivalent to the standards of the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance; -For commercial, industrial, and institutional uses, a 10 percent reduction in water use by 2015; and -For agricultural irrigation use, the water efficiency equivalent to the standards of the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance; or
-For urban water suppliers that were members of the California Urban Water Conservation Council prior to 1994 and are at or below the applicable state hydrologic region target, 95 percent of base per capita water use.

-Authorizes urban retail water suppliers to update its 2020 water use target in its 2015 urban water management plan (Sec. 1). -Authorizes urban retail water suppliers to consider weather-normalizing factors when determining compliance of daily per capita water use, including, but not limited to, differences in evapotranspiration and rainfall in the baseline period compared to the compliance reporting period (Sec. 1). -Authorizes urban retail water suppliers to recover the costs for water conservation requirements from adjustments in rates, provided that the rates are approved by the Public Utilities Commission (Sec. 1). -Requires agricultural water suppliers to implement specific water use efficiency management practices, including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1):

-Measuring the volume of water delivered to customers to implement volumetric pricing; -Providing for the availability of water management services to water users, including, but not limited to, the following:
-On-farm irrigation and draining system evaluations; -Normal year and real-time irrigation scheduling and crop evapotranspiration information; -Surface water, groundwater, and drainage water quantity and quality data; and -Agricultural water management educational programs and materials for farmers, staff, and the public;
-Evaluating the policies of agencies that provide the supplier with water and identify the potential for institutional changes to allow for more flexible water delivery and storage; -Evaluating and improving the efficiencies of the water pumps; -Facilitating the use of available recycled water that would not otherwise be used beneficially; -Facilitating the financing of capital improvements for on-farm irrigation systems; -Implementing an incentive pricing structure that promotes 1 or more of the following goals:
-More efficient water use at farm level; -Conjunctive use of groundwater; -Appropriate increase of groundwater recharge; -Reduction in problem drainage; -Improved management of environmental resources; or -Effective management of all water sources throughout the year by adjusting seasonal pricing structures based on current conditions;
-Implementing line or pipe distribution systems and constructing regulatory reservoirs to increase distribution system flexibility and capacity, decrease maintenance, and reduce seepage; -Automating canal control structures; -Constructing and operating supplier spill and tailwater recovery systems; and -Increasing planned conjunctive use of surface and groundwater within the supplier service area.

-Requires agricultural water suppliers to adopt and implement a water management plan on or before December 31, 2011 and every five years thereafter that includes the following (Sec. 1):

-Description of the water supplier and the service area; -Description of the quantity and quality of water resources; -Analysis of the effect of climate change on future water supplies; -Description of previous water management activities; and -Plan for water use efficiency management practices, as required by this Act.

-Requires retail and agricultural water suppliers to comply with the provisions of this Act in order to be eligible for state water management grants and loans (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text