Chapter 1. The California Water Plan of California Water Code >> Division 6. >> Part 1.5. >> Chapter 1.

(a) The plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the state which is set forth and described in Bulletin No. 1 of the State Water Resources Board entitled "Water Resources of California," Bulletin No. 2 of the State Water Resources Board entitled, "Water Utilization and Requirements of California," and Bulletin No. 3 of the department entitled, "The California Water Plan," with any necessary amendments, supplements, and additions to the plan, shall be known as "The California Water Plan."
  (b) (1) The department shall update The California Water Plan on or before December 31, 2003, and every five years thereafter. The department shall report the amendments, supplements, and additions included in the updates of The California Water Plan, together with a summary of the department's conclusions and recommendations, to the Legislature in the session in which the updated plan is issued.
  (2) The department shall establish an advisory committee, comprised of representatives of agricultural and urban water suppliers, local government, business, production agriculture, and environmental interests, and other interested parties, to assist the department in the updating of The California Water Plan. The department shall consult with the advisory committee in carrying out this section. The department shall provide written notice of meetings of the advisory committee to any interested person or entity that request the notice. The meetings shall be open to the public.
  (3) The department shall release a preliminary draft of The California Water Plan, as updated, upon request, to interested persons and entities throughout the state for their review and comments. The department shall provide these persons and entities an opportunity to present written or oral comments on the preliminary draft. The department shall consider these comments in the preparation of the final publication of The California Water Plan, as updated.

As part of the requirement of the department to update The California Water Plan pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004, the department shall include in the plan a discussion of various strategies, including, but not limited to, those relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers that may be pursued in order to meet the future water needs of the state. The department shall also include a discussion of the potential for alternative water pricing policies to change current and projected uses. The department shall include in the plan a discussion of the potential advantages and disadvantages of each strategy and an identification of all federal and state permits, approvals, or entitlements that are anticipated to be required in order to implement the various components of the strategy.

(a) As part of updating The California Water Plan every five years pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004, the department shall conduct a study to determine the amount of water needed to meet the state's future needs and to recommend programs, policies, and facilities to meet those needs.
  (b) The department shall consult with the advisory committee established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004 in carrying out this section.
  (c) On or before January 1, 2002, and one year prior to issuing each successive update to The California Water Plan, the department shall release a preliminary draft of the assumptions and other estimates upon which the study will be based, to interested persons and entities throughout the state for their review and comments. The department shall provide these persons and entities an opportunity to present written or oral comments on the preliminary draft. The department shall consider these documents when adopting the final assumptions and estimates for the study. For the purpose of carrying out this subdivision, the department shall release, at a minimum, assumptions and other estimates relating to all of the following:
  (1) Basin hydrology, including annual rainfall, estimated unimpaired streamflow, depletions, and consumptive uses.
  (2) Groundwater supplies, including estimates of sustainable yield, supplies necessary to recover overdraft basins, and supplies lost due to pollution and other groundwater contaminants.
  (3) Current and projected land use patterns, including the mix of residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and undeveloped lands.
  (4) Environmental water needs, including regulatory instream flow requirements, nonregulated instream uses, and water needs by wetlands, preserves, refuges, and other managed and unmanaged natural resource lands.
  (5) Current and projected population.
  (6) Current and projected water use for all of the following:
  (A) Interior uses in a single-family dwelling.
  (B) Exterior uses in a single-family dwelling.
  (C) All uses in a multifamily dwelling.
  (D) Commercial uses.
  (E) Industrial uses.
  (F) Parks and open spaces.
  (G) Agricultural water diversion and use.
  (7) Evapotranspiration rates for major crop types, including estimates of evaporative losses by irrigation practice and the extent to which evaporation reduces transpiration.
  (8) Current and projected adoption of urban and agricultural conservation practices.
  (9) Current and projected supplies of water provided by water recycling and reuse.
  (d) The department shall include a discussion of the potential for alternative water pricing policies to change current and projected water uses identified pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c).
  (e) Nothing in this section requires or prohibits the department from updating any data necessary to update The California Water Plan pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004.

(a) It is hereby declared that the people of the state have a primary interest in the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the state by all individuals and entities and that it is the policy of the state that The California Water Plan, with any necessary amendments, supplements, and additions to the plan, is accepted as the master plan which guides the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, management and efficient utilization of the water resources of the state.
  (b) The declaration set forth in subdivision (a) does not constitute approval for the construction of specific projects or routes for transfer of water, or for financial assistance, by the state, without further legislative action, nor shall the declaration be construed as a prohibition of the development of the water resources of the state by any entity.

The department or, at the department's request, the California Water Commission, shall conduct a series of hearings with interested persons, organizations, local, state, and federal agencies, and representatives of the diverse geographical areas and interests of the state.

Prior to holding a hearing pursuant to Section 10005.1, the department shall give notice by mail of the hearing to persons and entities which have requested notice and have provided their name and address to the department.

The provisions of this part do not repeal or modify any of the provisions of Part 3 of this division.

Notwithstanding anything contained in this part, all applications heretofore filed by the Department of Finance or by the Department of Water Resources under Part 2 of Division 6 shall remain valid and shall retain and have the status and priority accorded to such applications as now or hereafter provided in said Part 2.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that agreements which provide for the transfer of water from the federal Central Valley Project to public entities supplying water for domestic or irrigation use offer potential benefits to California's hard-pressed farmers and to California's water-dependent urban areas. It is the intent of the Legislature that these contracts be entered into for the purposes of strengthening California's economy, serving the public, and protecting the environment. The director shall continue to pursue negotiations with the United States Bureau of Reclamation to contract for the interim rights to stored water from the federal Central Valley Project for use in the State Water Resources Development System by state water supply contractors.

The director shall pursue discussions with the United States Bureau of Reclamation to permit persons and public entities which have entitlements to water from the federal Central Valley Project, to enter into legally binding contracts with any public entity which supplies water for domestic use, irrigation use, or environmental protection in this state for the transfer of federal water entitlements during times of shortage.

(a) In preparing the California Water Plan, the director shall conduct at least one public hearing within the boundaries of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and shall solicit the comments of water agencies within the delta, agricultural groups representative of delta agricultural activity, environmental groups concerned with protecting delta wildlife habitat, and groups representative of those who utilize water exported from the delta.
  (b) The California Water Plan shall include a discussion of various alternatives, including their advantages and disadvantages, for improving and protecting the current uses and configuration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
  (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be implemented only to the extent money is appropriated in the annual Budget Act to carry out this section.

The department, as a part of the preparation of the department's Bulletin 160-03, shall include in the California Water Plan a report on the development of regional and local water projects within each hydrologic region of the state, as described in the department's Bulletin 160-98, to improve water supplies to meet municipal, agricultural, and environmental water needs and minimize the need to import water from other hydrologic regions. The report shall include, but is not limited to, regional and local water projects that use technologies for desalting brackish groundwater and ocean water, reclaiming water for use within the community generating the water to be reclaimed, the construction of improved potable water treatment facilities so that water from sources determined to be unsuitable can be used, and the construction of dual water systems and brine lines, particularly in connection with new developments and when replacing water piping in developed or redeveloped areas.