Recommendations to the State Water Resources Control Board Pursuant to California Water Code Section 10609

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is pleased to provide the following recommendations developed in response to the 2018 Legislation (Senate Bill 606 [Hertzberg] and Assembly Bill 1668 [Friedman]) enacted in support of “Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life.” The Legislation included provisions for advancing urban water use efficiency through developing and implementing various water use efficiency standards, variances for unique uses of water, and commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) performance measures, among other requirements. Full reports detailing our methods, technical analyses, studies, public input, and recommendations will follow.

These recommendations for long-term urban water use efficiency reflect technical considerations, public input, and the imperative to continue California’s progress in
urban efficient use of water for future generations. If adopted DWR’s recommendations on outdoor residential and CII water use on landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters, combined with the indoor residential water use standard recommendations submitted to the Legislature jointly by DWR and State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), pursuant to Water Code 10609.4 (b)(1), would result in expected long-term water savings of approximately 450,000 acre-feet per year starting in 2030 – considering 2019 population and 2017-2019 water use data, the water savings are enough to supply about 1.6 million homes or 4.7 million residents for both indoor and outdoor annual water needs.