SECTIONS 78500-78500.4 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 78500-78500.4

78500. This division shall be known and may be cited as the Safe,
Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act.

78500.2. In placing this measure before the voters, the Legislature
hereby finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The state faces a water crisis that threatens our economy and
environment.
(b) The state's growing population has increasing needs for safe
water supplies which are essential to the public health, safety, and
welfare.
(c) It is of paramount importance that the limited water resources
of the state be protected from pollution, and conserved and recycled
whenever economically, environmentally, and technically feasible.
(d) The state should plan to meet the water supply needs of all
beneficial uses of water, including urban, agricultural, and
environmental, utilizing a wide range of strategies including water
conservation and recycling, conjunctive use of surface and
groundwater supplies, water transfers, and improvements in the state'
s water storage and delivery systems to meet the growing water needs
of the state.
(e) This measure is a necessary first step toward providing for
the state's long-term water supply requirements through a number of
water management strategies.
(f) The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Estuary
(the Bay-Delta) is of statewide and national importance. The
Bay-Delta provides habitat for more than 120 species of fish and
wildlife and serves as a major link in our water delivery system for
businesses and farms statewide and more than 22 million residents.
(g) The state has signed an historic accord with federal officials
and statewide water interests that calls for the development of a
comprehensive and long-term solution for the water supply
reliability, water quality, and environmental problems of the
Bay-Delta.
(h) Federal and state representatives have initiated a program
known as CALFED, to develop a comprehensive and long-term solution to
the problems associated with the Bay-Delta, including an equitable
allocation of program costs among beneficiary groups. The success of
the CALFED program is vital to the environmental and economic
well-being of the state.

78500.4. In enacting this measure, the people of California declare
all of the following to be the objectives of this act:
(a) To provide a safe, clean, affordable, and sufficient water
supply to meet the needs of California residents, farms, and
businesses.
(b) To develop lasting water solutions that balance the needs of
the state's economy and its environment.
(c) To restore ecological health for native fish and wildlife, and
their natural habitats, including wetlands.
(d) To protect the integrity of the state's water supply system
from catastrophic failure due to earthquakes and flooding.
(e) To protect drinking water quality.
(f) To protect the quality of life in our communities by ensuring
recreational opportunities and maintaining parks, trees, and plants.