In May of 2016, while the severe drought still gripped the state, Governor Jerry Brown issued an Executive Order calling for state agencies to develop a new approach to conserving water.  His theme, "Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life," marked an important pivot away from several years of crisis management and emergency regulatory action by the Brown Administration acting primarily through the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento.

 

Over the course of many months last year, water suppliers across the state worked diligently and in good faith with the Administration to provide input for a new water conservation framework that would implement Brown's "Way of Life" vision. Those participating understand that key aspects of the framework would require amendments and additions to existing statutes. They anticipated that a challenging but ultimately productive legislative process would see things through.

 

On Friday, April 7, Brown issued a new Executive Order lifting the drought state of emergency for most of the state, as well as a report containing the final water conservation framework. Then the other shoe dropped. That same day, Brown released budget trailer bill language to implement a number of framework provisions. If enacted, this language would have profound and troubling implications for urban water suppliers and their customers.

 

The bottom line: water agencies would lose local control to the State Water Resources Control Board.