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Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing legislation that would “deputize” local water agency staff members to fine residents up to $10,000 for water violations, state officials said Friday.

Santa Clarita Residents May Face Stricter Water Fines

Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing legislation that would “deputize” local water agency staff members to fine residents up to $10,000 for water violations, state officials said Friday.


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After a meeting with mayors from across the state earlier this week, Brown announced he’ll propose legislation to help local officials better enforce conservation requirements and direct state agencies to streamline environmental review of local water supply projects, according to a news release.

Santa Clarita Valley water agency officials have been expecting direction on more stringent water controls in light of the prolonged drought conditions, but there has been no additional direction from Sacramento, yet.

Related: Santa Clarita Valley Water Officials Awaiting Word From State

“These measures will strengthen the ability of local officials to build new water projects and ensure that water is not wasted,” Brown said. “As this drought stretches on, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to help communities save more water.”

The proposed legislation will give new enforcement authority to local entities that don’t currently have it and increase potential penalties against water wasters, according to a news release.

According to Brown’s office, the legislation would specifically:

-Establish a new penalty of up to $10,000 per violation, expanding on $500 per day maximum infraction established in last year’s drought legislation.

-Allow penalties to be issued administratively by wholesale and retail water agencies, as well as city and county governments. This change speeds up an infraction process involving courts that was established in last year’s emergency drought legislation.

-Enable these entities to enforce local water restrictions against water waste, as well as conservation restrictions established by the State Water Resources Control Board.

-Allow local public agencies to deputize staff to issue water conservation-related warnings and citations.

This legislation will give all water agencies and local governments a consistent, minimum set of enforcement authorities to achieve required water conservation, according to a news release. Local water agencies with existing authorities to enforce against water waste can continue to use those authorities.

Under the proposed legislation, any monetary penalties from this enforcement will be used for local conservation efforts, according to a news release. Separately, to streamline environmental permitting for critical water supply projects, the Governor has directed his Office of Planning and Research and other state agencies to help local water agencies reduce the time required to comply with state-required environmental reviews.

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These permit streamlining efforts will focus on projects that can increase local water supplies with limited environmental impacts, according to a news release. The Governor’s Office will also explore legislative changes that can speed-up delivery of critical water supply projects.

California’s Drought Response

In recent weeks, Governor Brown has convened top agricultural, environmental, urban water agency and business leaders from across California to discuss the state’s drought and conservation efforts.

Earlier this month, Governor Brown announced the first ever 25 percent statewide mandatory water reductions and a series of actions to help save water, increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, streamline the state’s drought response and invest in new technologies that will make California more drought resilient. This order included measures to help: replace lawns with drought tolerant landscaping and old appliances with more water and energy efficient models; cut water use at campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes; prevent potable water irrigation at new developments unless water-efficient drip systems are used; and stop watering of ornamental grass on public street medians.

Within days of the Governor’s order, the State Water Resources Control Board released its framework to achieve the mandatory water reductions and the California Energy Commission approved new water appliance standards to save billions of gallons of water per year. The California Department of Water Resources also announced that due to the severe drought it will install an emergency, temporary rock barrier across a Sacramento San Joaquin Delta channel to help prevent the saltwater contamination of water that 25 million Californians depend on.

These measures build on unprecedented action by the State Water Resources Control Board over the past year to prohibit other wasteful water use and encourage Californians to conserve, including strict limits on outdoor irrigation (two days a week in much of California) and bans on hosing down outdoor surfaces, decorative water fountains that don’t recirculate water and car washing without an automatic shut-off nozzle. Bars and restaurants are also now required to only serve water upon request and hotels must ask guests staying multiple nights whether linens and towels need to be washed.

Governor Brown proclaimed a drought state of emergency in January 2014 and for more than two years, the state’s experts have been managing water resources to deal with the effects of the drought, which include severely curtailed water supplies to agricultural producers, farmworker job losses due to fallowed fields, drinking water vulnerability in communities across California, heightened fire danger and threats to endangered and threatened fish and wildlife.

To learn more about the state’s drought response, visit the website here.

Every Californian should take steps to conserve water. Find out how here.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Santa Clarita Residents May Face Stricter Water Fines

4 comments

  1. * Do you want $2 Gasoline at the pump?

    * Do you want clean air and water?

    An ethanol blend cap and elimination of E-85 flex fuel credit can cut our CO2 transportation pollution over 50%

    Let’s improve performance of CA Climate change law, AB 32 (Schwarzenegger/Nunez/Pavley), in 2015 for future generations

  2. I see home construction EVERYWHRE! More homes means more water needed. The city keeps building causing more water usage and yet wants to fine established residents for water usage.
    Seems typical of corporate and governmental greed.

    • I agree with Chris. Its the 21,000 additional houses in Newhall Ranch and the other 15,000 houses proposed around the valley that should go. We are all being asked to lose our landscaping, trees, our parks and everything else that keeps our homes and public areas cool in the heat so that there is water for tens of thousands of additional houses in the SCV or almonds and alfalfa that is exported to China. That’s not right. If there is really a water crisis there would be a moratorium on new housing until we know if this is the “new Normal” due to climate change.

      Whenever asked, Dan Masnada, head of CLWA, has repeteadly stated that there is plenty of water for new houses in Santa Clarita. If we are all being asked to allow our trees to die, that statement has to be a lie.

      We DO have a water problem in California. A look at empty resevoirs is enough to make anyone worried. Wells in the upper Santa CLara River watershed are dry, but thousands of new housing units are still moving forward. New vineyards in Aqua Dulce pump water while neighboring wells go dry. What is going on here? Will no public official stand up and say there needs to be a moratorium on new develoipment until we see if this drought is the “new normal”? We can’t continue to build urban sprawl housing and add thousands of new lawns and swimming pools if there is no water.

      Drought tolerant and especially native landscapes can be beautiful and use much less water. Time to include natives in all our landscaping, but we must not let our existing urban trees die. Existing residents should have some rights in all of this. Time to start speaking up, folks. Landuse planning matters.

  3. How about stop spending money on the crazy train and divert our taxes to water projects which we actually need . Maybe Jerry “moonbeam” Brown could then be remember for doing something right.instead of foolish.

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About Kimberly Beers

Kimberly Beers is a Santa Clarita native. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge in 2013. While attending the university, she focused her attention on news writing and worked as a primary news writer for the campus' award winning radio station and televised news program. She began writing news stories for KHTS in 2014 and hopes to have a lifetime career dedicated to writing and sharing the news