Article 5. Southern California Integrated Watershed Program of California Water Code >> Division 26. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 5.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
  (a) The Santa Ana Watershed is experiencing increased water demands due to significant population growth that has caused undue infrastructure dependence and strain on imported water supplies.
  (b) Regional programs have been developed to address the problems facing the watershed. These programs have four main elements, as follows:
  (1) Storage of more than one million acre-feet of water from wet years in groundwater storage basins.
  (2) Conservation, including water use efficiency and reclamation, that results in the substantial development of new usable supplies.
  (3) Desalting and treatment of brackish water to allow poor quality water to be reclaimed and used.
  (4) Enhancement of native habitat along the river and its tributaries.
  (c) The water supply programs proposed by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority will develop significant new water supply and storage capabilities, thereby reducing the imported water needs of urban southern California, especially during dry years.

(a) There is hereby created in the account the Santa Ana River Watershed Subaccount.
  (b) For purposes of this article, "subaccount" means the Santa Ana River Watershed Subaccount created by subdivision (a).

The sum of two hundred thirty-five million dollars ($235,000,000) is hereby transferred from the account to the subaccount.

The money in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the board, may be used by the board for allocation to the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority for all of the following projects for the purposes of rehabilitating and improving the Santa Ana River Watershed:
  (a) Basin water banking in one or more of the following basins: Chino, Colton, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto.
  (b) Contaminant and salt removal through reclamation and desalting in Orange County, San Jacinto, or other basins in the watershed.
  (c) Removal of nonnative plants, and the creation of new open space and wetlands.
  (d) Programs for water conservation and efficiency and storm water capture and management.
  (e) Planning and implementation of a flood control program to protect agricultural operations and adjacent property , to assist in abating the effects of waste discharges into waters of the state, consistent with the requirements of Section 13442.

It is the intent of the Legislature to urge the federal government to allocate funds for projects to improve the Santa Ana River Watershed to match the state's financial commitment to the projects described in this article.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the expenditure of the funds under this article be made through a broad-based watershed stakeholder process.

Not more than 3 percent of the total amount deposited in the subaccount may be used to pay costs incurred by the board in connection with the administration of this article.