Anna Caballero

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, requires all public water systems, as defined, with 10,000 or more service connections to review and revise their disaster preparedness plans in conjunction with related agencies, including, but not limited to, local fire departments and the Office of Emergency Services, to ensure that the plans are sufficient to address possible disaster scenarios. A person, as defined, who violates the provisions of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor.

This bill, beginning January 1, 2028, would require all urban retail water suppliers, as defined, serving a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to include incident-specific response procedures for wildfires as part of their disaster preparedness plans, including any applicable emergency response plan as required by federal law. The bill would require these plans to include, among other things, mitigation actions, including actions, procedures, and equipment, that can obviate or significantly lessen the impact of a wildfire on the water system and the supply of drinking water provided by the water supplier. Because violation of these requirements by certain urban retail water suppliers would constitute a misdemeanor, the bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.

This bill would provide that the inability of a public water system to maintain water supply or water pressure during a wildfire shall not be considered a substantial cause of the damages resulting from a wildfire, and that the spread of wildfire shall not be considered an inherent risk presented by the deliberate design, construction, or maintenance of a public water system.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.