Senator Anna Caballero, D-Merced, has authored a measure that would establish a state goal for boosting the water supply. Senate Bill 366 would establish a target of nine million acre-feet by 2040 through more above-ground storage, groundwater banking, conservation and recycling.
Yet the Newsom administration came out in opposition to the measure during an Appropriations Committee hearing this week. Caballero seized on news the State Water Project could lose 23% of its supply in the next 20 years due to climate change. She also pointed out that as much as a million acres of farmland will go fallow in that timespan.
The Department of Finance pegged the cost to implement the bill at more than $6 million annually. SB 366 would also obligate the state to take more steps to expand the water supply, adding further expenses.
Caballero acknowledged “there's no question that it's going to cost.” But she reasoned that the pending climate bond needs a plan to guide its water spending. She is working on amendments to remove some of the costlier aspects of the bill.
The committee will vote on it next week.
