GOV. BROWN SIGNS BILLS ESTABLISHING STATEWIDE WATER EFFICIENCY

East County News Service

June 1, 2018 (Sacramento) -- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. yesterday signed SB 606 by Senator Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and AB 1668 by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) to help the state better prepare for droughts and climate change by establishing statewide water efficiency standards.

“In preparation for the next drought and our changing environment, we must use our precious resources wisely. We have efficiency goals for energy and cars – and now we have them for water,” said Governor Brown.

SB 606 and AB 1668 establish guidelines for efficient water use and a framework for the implementation and oversight of the new standards, which must be in place by 2022. The two bills strengthen the state’s water resiliency in the face of future droughts with provisions that include:

• Establishing an indoor, per person water use goal of 55 gallons per day until 2025, 52.5 gallons from 2025 to 2030 and 50 gallons beginning in 2030.
• Creating incentives for water suppliers to recycle water.
• Requiring both urban and agricultural water suppliers to set annual water budgets and prepare for drought.

The legislative action builds on Governor Brown’s ongoing efforts to make water conservation a way of life in California  to prepare for climate change and population growth.

For full text of the bills signed, visit http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.