Democratic lawmakers in the state Legislature have proposed five bills intended to overhaul how the state manages its water supplies.
The drafts came after months of bipartisan meetings between the Assembly and Senate but omit key provisions desired by Republicans. Those include authorization for new dams and a bond to pay for various water improvements around the state.
Here are some proposals contained in the legislative package:
– Creates a seven-member Delta Stewardship Council to oversee the ecosystem and water supplies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta and its tributaries.
– Mandates a management plan by the council that addresses whether to build a canal, dams and other water storage. The plan also must restore wildlife habitat, establish migratory corridors, restore delta river flows and improve water quality.
– Begins a study to determine whether the State Water Project, which runs the state's water-delivery system, should be run by another agency or utility instead of the California Department of Water Resources.
– Appoints a watermaster to direct the daily operations of all water diversions within the delta.
– Establishes a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy to advance environmental protection and assure prosperity for delta residents.
– Requires California to achieve a 20 percent reduction in per capita water use by 2020.
– Requires agricultural water suppliers to report how much they deliver to farms and implement efficient water-management practices.
– Establishes a groundwater monitoring program.
– Requires each region that depends on water from the delta to increase supplies through water efficiency, water recycling and regional coordination.
– Imposes an annual fee on each person or entity that holds a right, permit or license to divert water within the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. The money would be used to implement the delta plan.
– Requires those who receive water from the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project to pay for the environmental review, planning, construction and operation of any system to move water around the delta.
– Increases penalties for illegal diversions of water.
Source: The bills are AB1, AB2, SB1, SB2, SB3.