Implementing water conservation legislation

Water agency personnel from throughout the mountain counties gathered on March 15 at El Dorado Irrigation District headquarters for a workshop on how the state’s new water conservation legislation will be implemented.

Sponsored by the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association, the workshop’s featured speaker was Peter Brostrom who leads the water use and efficiency branch of the California Department of Water Resources.

Brostrom explained in detail how the new legislation, Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668, which was passed last year, will be implemented and the role the DWR will play.

John Kingsbury, the executive director of the MCWRA, opened the workshop by noting that the organization had opposed the legislation, saying it represented a loss of local control and personal freedom. He also worried, “where this is all headed and the unintended consequences for the region.”

Other concerns he had were the potential revenue losses to water agencies, the cost of all the additional reporting that will be required, losses to agriculture, tourism and the local economy and the effect on people’s quality of life.

Diving right into the topic, Brostrom began by explaining that the goals of the legislation are not conservation but rather using water more wisely, eliminating water waste, strengthening local drought resilience, improving agricultural water use efficiency and drought planning.

For the full article, click the link below: https://www.mtdemocrat.com/news/implementing-water-conservation-legislation/