The California Water Plan: long-term supply targets.

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included claims about cost-benefit analyses and legislative reporting that were not supported by the official source material. These have been removed.

California Water Plan: Long-Term Supply Targets

This law updates California's water plan by expanding advisory committee membership and setting new targets for 2050.

What This Bill Does

• Expands the advisory committee to include tribes, labor groups, and environmental justice advocates.
• Updates the interim planning target for 2050 in the 2033 plan revision.
• Requires consideration of water needs for urban, agricultural, tribal, and environmental uses when setting targets.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Department of Water Resources
• Advisory committee members

Terms To Know

Interim planning target

A goal set for a specific year to guide water management decisions.

Beneficial uses

Ways that water is used, such as drinking, farming, and protecting the environment.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much funding will be provided for these updates.
• It's unclear what specific actions the department will take to meet the new targets.
• Details on public workshops are limited; it doesn't say when or where they will happen.

Official Summary Text

SB 72, Caballero.
The California Water Plan: long-term supply targets.
Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as “The California Water Plan.” Existing law requires the department to include a discussion of various strategies in the plan update, including, but not limited to, strategies relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers, that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state. Existing law requires the department to establish an advisory committee to assist the department in updating the plan.
This bill would revise and recast certain provisions regarding The California Water Plan to, among other things,
require the department to expand the membership of the advisory committee to include, among others, tribes, labor, and environmental justice interests. The bill would require the department, as part of the 2033 update to the plan, to update the interim planning target for 2050, as provided. The bill would require the target to consider the identified and future water needs for all beneficial uses, including, but not limited to, urban uses, agricultural uses, tribal uses, and the environment, and ensure safe drinking water for all Californians, among other things. The bill would require the plan to include specified components, including a discussion of the estimated
costs, benefits, and impacts of any project type or action that is recommended by the department within the plan that could help achieve the water supply targets. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature the amendments, supplements, and additions included in the updates of the plan, together with a summary of the department’s conclusions and recommendations, in the session in which the updated plan is issued. The bill would also require the department to conduct public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF