California Statutes Making Conservation a California Way of Life

Climate change requires Californians to use water more wisely and prepare for more frequent and persistent periods of limited water supply. This page highlights water conservation and efficiency legislation that became effective after the 2012-2017 drought.

Index to Statutes

• Water Conservation and Drought Planning, AB 1668 (Friedman, 2018) and SB 606 (Hertzberg, 2018)
• Landscape Water Use Efficiency, AB 2371 (Carrillo, 2018)
• Onsite Treated Nonpotable Water Systems, SB 966 (Wiener, 2018)

Information on other Laws and Regulations relevant to State Water Board activities.

Water Conservation and Drought Planning

Assembly Bill (AB) 1668 and Senate Bill (SB) 606-May 31, 2018
AB 1668 and SB 606 build on Governor Brown’s ongoing efforts to make water conservation a way of life in California and create a new foundation for long-term improvements in water conservation and drought planning. 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 water use objectives and long-term standards for efficient water use that apply to urban retail water suppliers; comprised of indoor residential water use, outdoor residential water use, commercial, industrial and institutional (CII) irrigation with dedicated meters, water loss, and other unique local uses.
• Providing incentives for water suppliers to recycle water.
• Identifying small water suppliers and rural communities that may be at risk of drought and water shortage vulnerability and provide recommendations for drought planning.
• Requiring both urban and agricultural water
  suppliers to set annual water budgets and prepare for drought.

Learn More

• Rulemaking to implement 2018 Water Efficiency Legislation
• Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life: Primer of 2018 Legislation of Water Conservation and Drought Planning. News Release (Nov 13, 2018)
• Water Efficiency Legislation Fact Sheet (May 22, 2020)
• AB 1668 and SB 606 (enrolled text of both bills), Legislative information: AB1668 SB 606 (May 31, 2018)
• Governor's Press Release (May 31, 2018)
• Department of Water Resources (DWR) (also see events)
• Department of Water Resources (DWR), Water Use & Efficiency, Email: WUE@water.ca.gov, also see Making Conservation a California Way of Life,  Events

Public Process

• County Drought Advisory Group (CDAG) Meeting (December 13, 2018 in Sacramento) The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) convenes the first CDAG meeting to gather input about the factors that make small water systems and rural communities vulnerable and at risk of water shortage.
• AB 1668 and SB 606 Conservation Legislation Stakeholder Listening Sessions (Sept 5 in Sacramento, Sept 7 in Los Angeles, and Sept 11 in Fresno).  California Department of Water Resources (DWR), with input from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), prepared a summary of the newly chaptered, long-term water conservation legislation, AB 1668 and SB 606 for public comment.  Comments were due September 14, 2018. 
  • Listening Sessions Agenda for all Listening Session locations
  • Handout of Selected Exhibits in the 2018 Water Conservation Legislation Primer
  • Handout of Concise Project List for AB 1668 and SB 606
  • Presentation Slides for all Listening Session locations

Senate Bill 555 - October 2015

Senate Bill 555 requires the State Water Board to develop water loss performance standards for urban retail water suppliers between January 2019 and July 2020.

Major State Agency Tasks for Implementing SB 606 and AB 1668

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) have compiled an initial list of tasks with major deliverables and products to meet the new requirements associated with implementing AB 1668 and SB 606.

Table 1: Major Tasks for DWR and State Water Board
Table 2: Compliance and Enforcement Actions for State Water Board
Table 3: Major Water Supplier Tasks for Implementing 2018 Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668 for Water Conservation and Drought Planning

Refer to statutes covering AB 1668 and SB 606 and AB555** for more complete information.

Table 1: SB 606 and AB 1668 Major Tasks¹ for DWR and State Water Board

Notes for Table 1:
1.   The list of major tasks include tasks with major deliverables and products required by the new legislation, and other tasks deemed by DWR and the State Water Board necessary to implement the legislation. The detailed requirements on coordination with other state and local government agencies and stakeholders are not elaborated in the list but will be incorporated in task execution.
2.   The standard for a water loss volume was adopted in 2020 (see task #6).
3.   State Water Board may continue to adopt additional acceptable variances afterward, if warranted.

KEY for Table 1:
AB = Assembly Bill 1668, AWMP = Agricultural Water Management Plan, CII = commercial, industrial, and institutional, CIMIS = California Irrigation Management Information System, CWC = California Water Code, DWR = California Department of Water Resources Water Code, Legislature = California State Legislature, State Water Board = State Water Resources Control Board, SB = Senate Bill 606, UWMP = Urban Water Management Plan

KEY for Table 2:
AB = Assembly Bill 1668; CWC = California Water Code, DWR = California Department of Water Resources Water Code, State Water Board = State Water Resources Control Board, SB = Senate Bill 606

Table 3: Major Water Supplier Tasks for Implementing 2018 Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668 for Water Conservation and Drought Planning

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) have compiled a list of major tasks for urban and agricultural water suppliers to meet new requirements associated with implementing Senate Bill (SB) 606 (Hertzberg) and Assembly Bill (AB) 1668 (Friedman). All tasks are presented in chronological order.

Major Tasks for Urban Retail Water Suppliers

Notes for Table 3:
1 If an urban water supplier revises its WSCP, the supplier must submit a copy of the revised WSCP to DWR not later than 30 days after adoption (CWC § 10644(b)).
2 For urban water suppliers that receive imported water, the due date is June 1 or 14 days after final allocation from State Water Project or Bureau of Reclamation, whichever is later. The inclusion of 2022 as the starting year is to match the availability of WSCPs that are to be adopted by urban water suppliers. DWR encourages urban water suppliers to conduct such assessments prior to 2022 and submit their information to DWR.
3 The annual water supply and demand assessment is the basis for the urban water supplier's annual water shortage assessment report.

KEY for Table 3:
CII = Commercial, industrial, and institutional, CPUC = California Public Utilities, DRA = Drought Risk Assessment Commission, DWR = California Department of Water Resources, UWMP = Urban Water Management Plan, WSCP = Water Shortage Contingency Plan

Major Tasks for Urban Wholesale Water Suppliers

NOTES:
1 If an urban water supplier revises its WSCP, the supplier must submit a copy of the revised WSCP to DWR not later than 30 days after adoption (CWC § 10644(b)).
2 For urban water suppliers that receive imported water, the due date is June 1 or 14 days after final allocation from State Water Project or Bureau of Reclamation, whichever is later. The inclusion of 2022 as the starting year is to match the availability of WSCPs that are to be adopted by urban water suppliers. DWR encourages urban water suppliers to conduct such assessments prior to 2022 and submit their information to DWR.
3 The annual water supply and demand assessment is the basis for the urban water supplier's annual water shortage assessment report.

KEY:
CPUC = California Public Utilities Commission, DRA = Drought Risk Assessment, DWR = California Department of Water Resources, UWMP = Urban Water Management Plan, WSCP = Water Shortage Contingency Plan

Major Tasks for Agricultural Water Suppliers

KEY:
AWMP = Agricultural Water Management Plan DWR = California Department of Water Resources

Other Water Conservation and Efficiency Documents

• Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life (April 2017), Implementing Governor's Executive Order B-37-16.  Also known as the "framework" report.
• California Water Action Plan (2016), the Administration’s five-year blueprint for more reliable, resilient water systems to prepare for climate change and population growth
• A complete list of Governor Brown's Executive Orders
• An overview of California's Emergency Drought Actions