Water quality: salinity: agricultural use.

Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with responsibility for the coordination and control of water quality in the state. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control, and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. This bill would require the state board, on or before July 1, 2013, to adopt a statewide policy establishing a statewide water quality objective and plan of implementation for chloride and other measures of salinity that may affect the suitability of water used for agricultural purposes, in accordance with prescribed requirements.