SECTIONS 81300-81301 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 81300-81301

81300. This division shall be known and may be cited as the Bay
Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency Act.

81301. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Many separate cities, districts, and public utilities are
responsible for distribution of water in portions of the Bay Area
served by the regional system operated by the City and County of San
Francisco. Residents in the Counties of Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa
Clara who depend on the water made available on a wholesale basis by
the regional system have no right to vote in elections in the City
and County of San Francisco and are not represented on the San
Francisco commission that oversees operation of the regional system.
(b) The San Francisco regional system is vulnerable to
catastrophic damage in a severe earthquake, which could result in San
Francisco and neighboring communities being without potable water
for up to 60 days. The San Francisco regional system is also
susceptible to severe water shortages during periods of below average
precipitation because of insufficient storage and the absence of
contractual arrangements for alternative dry year supplies.
(c) The lack of a local, intergovernmental, cooperative governance
structure for the San Francisco regional system prevents a
systematic, rational, cost-effective program of water supply, water
conservation, and recycling from being developed, funded, and
implemented.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to enable local
governments responsible for water distribution in the three counties
to establish a multicounty agency authorized to plan for and acquire
supplemental water supplies, to encourage water conservation and use
of recycled water on a regional basis, and to assist in the financing
of essential repairs and improvements to the San Francisco regional
water system, including seismic strengthening.
(e) The need for coordinated planning and implementation of
strategies for water supply, water conservation, water recycling, and
repair and improvement of the San Francisco regional system may
appropriately lead to the establishment of the Bay Area Water
Planning and Conservation Agency.