Urban retail water supplier: water use.

Existing law requires an urban retail water supplier to calculate its urban water use objective no later than January 1, 2024, and by January 1 every year thereafter, and to be composed of the sum of specified data, including aggregate residential water use. Existing law requires each urban retail water supplier's water use objective to be composed of the sum of specified aggregate estimates, including efficient outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters or equivalent technology in connection with water used by commercial water users, industrial water users, institutional water users, and large landscape water users (CII) . Existing law requires an urban retail water supplier to submit reports to the Department of Water Resources, as provided, by the same dates. This bill would require the department to, no later than January 1, 2035, conduct necessary studies and investigations regarding the efficiency performance of newly constructed residential landscapes and landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters in connection with CII water use, as specified. The bill would require the department, if appropriate, to recommend to the State Water Resources Control Board for adoption a revised standard for existing residential landscapes and landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters in connection with CII water use regarding an ongoing performance standard for those water uses. This bill would require the department to update methodologies and criteria for calculating residential and CII landscape areas and to determine landscape area measurements within each urban retail water supplier's service area by January 1, 2028, and once every 5 years thereafter, as specified, and post the data on its internet website. The bill would specify that an urban retail water supplier, in its calculations of its urban water use objectives, shall include aggregate indoor and outdoor residential water use. The bill would require, as part of the report to be submitted in 2026, each urban retail water supplier to provide a narrative that describes the water demand management measures that the supplier plans to implement to achieve its urban water use objective by January 1, 2030. Existing law authorizes the board, on or after January 1, 2024, to issue informational orders pertaining to water production, water use, and water conservation to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective. Existing law authorizes the board, on and after January 1, 2025, to issue a written notice to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective. Existing law authorizes the board, on and after January 1, 2026, to issue a conservation order to an urban retail water supplier that does not meet its urban water use objective. This bill would instead extend the time until the board is authorized to issue informational orders to on or after January 1, 2026, issue a written notice to on or after January 1, 2027, and issue a conservation order to on or after January 1, 2028. Existing law requires the department, in coordination with the board, to submit a report to the Legislature on the progress of urban retail water suppliers towards achieving their urban water use objective on or before January 1, 2028. The bill would instead require the report to be submitted to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2030. Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that the chairperson of the board and the director of the department appear before the appropriate policy committees of both houses of the Legislature on or around January 1, 2026, and report on the implementation of the water use efficiency standards and water use reporting. This bill would extend this date to not later than July 1, 2031. Existing law provides that an urban retail water supplier who violates certain regulations after November 1, 2027, may be liable for specified penalties, as provided. This bill would instead provide that urban retail water suppliers may be liable for specified penalties for violating those regulations after November 1, 2029. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. This bill would require the board to enact emergency regulation, as specified, in accordance with the provisions of the act.