Legislation

Twenty twenty-five may end up becoming the year for water legislation. Several bills have been introduced this year at both the state and the federal level to drought-proof California. The most recent, a bill to relax rules that govern recycled water use. California State Senator Jerry McNerney, (D-Pleasanton) introduced SB …

Last week U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced the Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing flood risks and being better prepared for emergencies along the West Coast by improving atmospheric river forecasting. Atmospheric rivers — often described as “rivers in the sky” that are …

In an effort to address California’s water mismanagement, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) introduced Senate Bill 224, the Preventing Artificial Water Shortages Act. The bill, introduced in the Senate January 27, would require the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to adopt a new water supply forecasting model and procedures that better …

California voters will decide in November if the $10 billion climate resilience bond is worth the price tag. Last week Acting Governor Mike McGuire signed SB 867, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024. The bond measure would allow the state to borrow …

Congresswoman Norma J. Torres and Congressman David Valadao introduced the Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in Drinking Water Act in Congress yesterday. The bill would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants for nitrate and arsenic reduction, by providing $15 million for FY25 and every fiscal year thereafter. The …

In 2018, the California Legislature passed two bills to establish a framework of making water conservation a way of life in the state. Now, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) says those laws should be modified because they are too complicated and costly to implement. The bills in question, Senate …