The new rules affect around 400 water plants throughout the Golden State.

By Alan Riquelmy, Courthouse News Service

Water utilities across California must implement efficiency improvements after the state water agency passed the “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” ordinance on Wednesday.

The new rules, based on two bills introduced in 2018, affect about 400 water plants in the state, which together provide water to 95% of Californians. Smaller water plants and households are not affected by the rules, although their impact is expected to trickle down.

The regulations have four objectives: to use water wisely, to end water waste, to improve local drought protection and to improve efficiency and drought planning in agricultural water use.

The legislative process began about a year ago. The new regulations will come into force on January 1, 2025.

“This is not a perfect regulation,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chairman of the State Water Resources Control Board. “There can never be a perfect regulation.”

But the regulations that the board adopted on Wednesday are significant, said Esquivel.

Climate change is causing the state's dry and wet seasons to become more intense, while hot and dry summers are reducing snow cover and affecting water supplies. Action is needed to expand the state's water storage, develop new supplies and improve efficiency.

The state water utility association said the savings are part of California's water supply strategy to prevent a 10 percent decline in water supplies by 2040 due to hotter and drier conditions.

Existing measures and regulations under the Making Conservation a California Way of Life initiative are estimated to save approximately 500,000 acre-feet of water annually by 2040, or enough water to supply more than 1.4 million households.

The water suppliers affected by the new regulations must meet a number of benchmarks. One aim of the suppliers is to convince people to use water more economically. Methods of achieving this goal may include educational work, higher water prices or discounts for replacing inefficient fittings.

Authorities also have tailored water saving targets that they must meet over the years and face fines if they fail to meet the targets. Some authorities are already meeting their benchmarks.

According to water authorities, 31% of affected water utilities will not see any cuts under the 2040 requirements, another 21% will face cuts of 10-20% and 12% will see cuts of over 30%.

The changes come at a price. While many speakers at Wednesday's meeting praised some aspects of the regulations, they criticized others.

Yasmeen Nubani of the Twentynine Palms Water District said she expects her agency to spend between $300,000 and $900,000 to comply with the regulations.

Clark Elliott, a conservation expert with the Desert Water Agency, said the regulations are improvements over previous drafts, but problems remain. Elliott was concerned that disadvantaged communities would be put under more pressure as regulatory costs would rise over the years.

“The actions we take going forward will be louder than the words we say in this room today,” Elliott said.

Amy Talbot, water efficiency program manager for the Sacramento-area Regional Water Authority, said her coalition has already seen a 23% drop in demand while the population has grown 15%.

Talbot said the next three to five years would be crucial as authorities would need to assess whether it was possible to meet the requirements.

“And I’m sure there will be some unexpected results along the way,” she added.

Chelsea Haines of the Association of California Water Agencies was one of several people who appreciated the work and public process involved in creating the regulations. She also called the implementation of the regulations a “great success.”

Success will be measured by the level of compliance, Haines said.

“This is just the beginning of a decades-long process,” she added.