• Congratulations to Sen. Fran Pavey together with the Planning and Conservation League for sponsoring an important newly passed bill that correctly identifies recycled water as one of the key elements of an integrated water management plan and provides us greater water security.

    Governor Signs Crucial Bill to Improve Regional Water Self Sufficiency

    Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Planning and Conservation League’s co-sponsored bill, Senate Bill 918. The bill, authored by Senator Fran Pavley and co-sponsored by the WateReuse Association, directs the State Department of Public Health to develop criteria for safely using recycled water to supplement groundwater basins and reservoirs.

    The legislation offers a unique solution to California’s water crisis, enabling millions of acre-feet of water to be cost-effectively reused every year, rather than simply discharged to the ocean. This new law will improve California’s water management record and point the way to a more sustainable holistic water management plan.

    This bill will help improve the availability of safe recycled drinking water by requiring the Department of Public Health to develop and adopt uniform health standards. The bill helps California develop a new drought-proof source of safe, clean water.Every year, California discharges nearly 4 million acre feet of used water into the ocean – more than the State Water Project delivers to the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and Southern California . Much of that water could be recycled, but because uniform safety standards have not been adopted, the permitting and design processes for creating recycling facilities are unpredictable, discouraging local communities from tapping into this major water source.

    By adopting uniform health criteria for using recycled water to augment local drinking water supplies, the Department of Public Health can provide project designers with the guidance they need to cost-effectively create new water recycling facilities that are fully protective of public health.