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A bill in the California state Legislature aims to boost jobs for vets to help meet the needs of the aging water industry workforce. Photo; Water Authority

Water Authority Bill Aims to Boost Water Industry Jobs for Veterans

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July 10, 2019 update: Assembly Bill 1588 passed the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on a 6-0 vote July 9 and will be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 12.

May 29, 2019 update: Assembly Bill 1588 passed the state Assembly on a 78-0 vote on May 23 and is now under consideration by the state Senate.

A new bill in the California Legislature would provide a path for veterans transitioning to civilian employment to receive credit for their military experience and education toward certifications in the water industry.

Assembly Bill 1588 was introduced February 22 by San Diego Assemblymember Todd Gloria and Central Valley Assemblymember Adam Gray. The bill, which may be heard in committee this month, is co-sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority and the Otay Water District in hopes of helping the state’s industry replace a wave of retiring Baby Boomers.

Several states help veterans navigate the civilian water system operator certification process and allow veterans to apply equivalency standards to credit military experiences toward state or industry certifications in water and wastewater treatment and distribution. However, no similar pathway exists in California.

‘Silver tsunami’

“The goal is to help veterans transitioning into civilian occupations, especially in the water and wastewater industry,” said Glenn Farrel, government relations manager for the Water Authority. “At a time with the water industry is facing a ‘silver tsunami’ – with thousands of workers expected to retire in coming years – veterans are returning to the civilian workforce with skills to benefit the industry and fill those jobs.”

Water and wastewater treatment is an essential industry and with an aging infrastructure and workforce. There are approximately 6,000 active certified wastewater treatment plant operators and approximately 35,000 drinking water treatment and distribution operators in California.

Challenges for water industry

Replacement of critical infrastructure components, while maintaining service to customers, is one of the greatest challenges in the water-wastewater industry today. In addition, the high pace of retirements, new technologies and increased demand for safe drinking water contribute to the pressure on the industry to augment the workforce.

“If veterans could more quickly move through the civilian certification process, the California water industry would have a much larger pool of highly skilled, motivated, and talented people eager to continue their public service careers,” Farrel said.

Agency managers challenge the ‘tax con job’

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Two water agency general managers in San Diego County have co-authored an opinion piece in the Escondido Times-Advocate that opposes a proposal in the state Legislature to add a “voluntary donation” to water bills. The new approach is designed to sidestep opposition to a water tax, which failed this summer to get necessary support in Sacramento.

“As proposed, the ‘Voluntary Donation’ will show up on your monthly water bill along with the normal charges, unless you take action to ‘Opt Out,’” said Greg Thomas, general manager of the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, and Gary Arant, general manager of the Valley Center Municipal Water District.

“This will require agencies to reconfigure their bills and modify their billing system, change financial processing software/systems, administrative procedures, and customer service to accomplish this effort and then process and track customers wishing to ‘Opt out,’” they said. “This will necessarily translate into higher costs being passed on to ratepayers at a time when water affordability is already a critical issue in our state.”

Click here to read the full article.

Related story:

San Diego Coalition Remains Vigilant on Water Tax

Water Service Shut-Off Bill Opposed by Water Authority

/in , /by by Water News Network staff Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

A coalition of organizations, including the San Diego County Water Authority, is opposing proposed state legislation that would change existing water service shut-off procedures used by public water agencies when customers become significantly delinquent on water bill payments.

Senate Bill 998 by Senator Bill Dodd (Napa) would replace current shut-off processes, which are tailored by local water districts to meet the needs of their agency customers. Despite the absence of state data showing current policies create a significant problem in California, the bill would impose a new “one-size-fits-all” statewide program.

The bill, should it become law, would prevent service shut-offs for at least 60 days for delinquent customers; create a cap on reconnection fees that may or may not cover the associated costs; trigger Proposition 218 concerns for public water agencies; and expand authority of the State Water Resources Control Board and the Attorney General to enforce provisions of the bill.

SB 998 would effectively force agencies to subsidize the cost of providing service to delinquent customers. Agencies could be compelled to decrease their level of service to customers who have been paying in a timely manner by diverting resources to non-paying customers because the bill does not provide sufficient additional revenue to cover related costs.

While SB 998 is intended to assist residents with financial hardship, the bill fails to account for other disadvantaged customers, including seniors and the disabled, whose rates could increase as a result.

Another impact of SB 998 would be diverting resources from local health departments to preventing water service shut-offs, instead of the many critical services they currently provide to children, seniors and others. Despite its intent, SB 998 would harm ratepayers’ rights to safe and affordable drinking water – a violation of the “human right to water” adopted by the state.

The Water Authority’s Board of Directors is on record opposing SB 998 and its cost-shifting policies, as is the Association of California Water Agencies.

 

Water Authority General Manager Maureen Stapleton, State Sen. Ben Hueso, Water Authority Board Chair Mark Muir, and Christy Guerin, chair of the Water Authority’s Legislation and Public Outreach Committee (left to right). Photo: Water Authority

State Sen. Hueso’s Interest in Water Runs Deep

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San Diego County is a leader in water conservation and management strategies that will become even more critical in coming years, state Sen. Ben Hueso (San Diego) said during an Aug. 1 Legislative Roundtable at the San Diego County Water Authority’s headquarters.

“San Diego is really a model in the state,” Hueso told an audience of about 90 water agency representatives, business and civic leaders and other stakeholders from around the county who attended the morning event. “San Diego leads the state in conservation. How we’re able to manage the system without an increase in the growth of consumption is just amazing. It’s just a testament to the great minds and people that we have managing our system, ensuring that we continue to have water … given the enormous challenges we have in providing for San Diego compared to other parts of the state.”

The Water Authority regularly hosts roundtables to hear from elected officials about water issues and other important developments in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., and to promote collaboration with civic, business and elected leaders in ensuring continued water supply reliability for the region.

“We’re so pleased Senator Hueso could join us today because he plays such an important role in water issues and water plays such a critical role in our region,” said Mark Muir, chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “Senator Hueso has been a true champion in protecting important independent water supplies for San Diego and has always been willing to work closely with us to balance all the important interests related to those water supplies.”

Hueso has been a leader on water issues since he was elected to the state Senate in 2013. He  chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, and he also sits on the Natural Resources and Water Committee. His 40th Senate District includes cities in south San Diego County, the southern portion of the City of San Diego, and all of Imperial County. A former San Diego City Councilmember, Hueso was elected to the state Assembly in 2010 and previously chaired the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

Finding Common Ground

Hueso’s commitment to water started as a youngster delivering newspapers. “Every morning when I used to fold those papers I would see ‘Drought,’ ‘Drought,’ ‘Drought.’ ‘Water scarcity.’ ‘Water scarcity,” he said. “If you’re a native San Diegan, that’s something you hear about a lot.”

Drought or no, water remains an important topic in the nation’s largest state, creating a complex challenge for policymakers. “It gets complicated when you consider that our water policy in California started in 1848 before our state was even formed with the Treaty of (Guadalupe) Hidalgo – the treaty with Mexico,” Hueso said. “There was actual language in that treaty that was aimed at protecting property rights and water rights for the people that owned property back then. And those water rights still apply.”

While those complexities can create division, they also create opportunity for bipartisan solutions. “The most important things that we’ve done in the state of California have been bipartisan,” Hueso said. “And that has taken effort. It has taken effort on both sides to come to a common ground and say we’re going to agree to do what’s in the best interest of the state in general. And when there has been an urgent matter facing the people of California, both sides have come together to forge relations and form solutions that truly help everyone.”

How that will play out in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta is still unclear, even as the state pursues a $17 billion project called California WaterFix that involves routing water underneath the Bay-Delta in twin tunnels.

A sense of urgency at the Salton Sea

Salton Sea restoration – a legislatively mandated responsibility of the State of California – is another priority for Hueso.

“My focus is set on how do we solve this problem, what’s the best vehicle, and how can we do it in a way that still takes care of the public funds,” he said. “We have to be mindful of how to spend this money because we don’t have a lot of it. We have to stretch every penny, stretch every dime, and there’s really little room for error. And that’s how I think we need to proceed.”

Then he added: “I really believe in creating an agency that is going to focus on solving this problem. We really need an agency that has a sense of urgency.”

 

 

Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, officials from the San Diego County Water Authority and several of its member agencies, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the Industrial Environmental Association, and more than 30 agencies and organizations have voiced strong opposition to any effort by state legislators to impose a drinking water tax.

San Diego Coalition Remains Vigilant on Water Tax

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Due in part to vigorous statewide opposition by a coalition of business, civic, and water industry officials, a proposed $135 million per year tax on drinking water in California has failed to advance in the state Legislature. But opponents of the bill said their victory should be considered temporary, and the anti-water-tax coalition in San Diego County remains on alert for attempts to revive the proposal.

In June, the legislative Budget Conference Committee failed to approve a Brown Administration budget trailer bill that included the water tax, and the trailer bill was not a component of the final state budget package passed by the Legislature on June 14. The proposed drinking water tax would have raised about $135 million a year to help provide clean, safe water in disadvantaged communities, mostly in the Central and Salinas valleys, where groundwater has been contaminated by farming operations.

Tax proponents likely to renew efforts in August

Tax proponents are likely to renew their efforts to advance another water tax proposal in August, the final month of the legislative session. Several legislative vehicles could allow them that opportunity.

Regional leaders in San Diego understand the need to improve water quality in poor, rural areas of the state. However, they say that should be done without adding another tax burden to residents who live in one of the nation’s most expensive states. They have also said the tax undermines access to the very thing it aims to support – clean water – by making it more expensive.

In addition, there is a major concern with the lack of administrative infrastructure – including appropriate managerial, technical, financial, and operational expertise – within the communities and regions suffering from poor groundwater quality. Without the appropriate governance structure or administrative infrastructure in place to make lasting improvements, the proposed water tax will not provide a lasting solution.

Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, officials from the San Diego County Water Authority and several of its member agencies, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the Industrial Environmental Association, and more than 30 agencies and organizations have voiced strong opposition to any effort by state legislators to impose a drinking water tax.

New legislation offers help to boost clean drinking water access

There are other ways to help boost access to clean drinking water statewide. Assembly Bill 2050 offers a more systemic, long-term approach. AB 2050 would authorize the creation of small system water authorities that will have powers to absorb, improve, and competently operate noncompliance public water systems.

Co-sponsored by Eastern Municipal Water District and the California Municipal Utilities Association, AB 2050 approaches the challenge of unsafe and undrinkable water sources within disadvantaged communities in a more methodical and well-structured manner, acknowledging the need to first improve service delivery infrastructure and governance structure of failing and noncompliant water systems as a condition precedent to any broader funding solution such as a water tax.

 

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Voters Overwhelmingly Oppose Proposed Water Tax

/in /by by Water News Network Staff

California voters overwhelmingly oppose state legislation that would create a new tax on drinking water, according to a recent poll of likely 2018 voters around the state.

In all, 73 percent said they opposed Senate legislation that would impose a tax on residential customers across the state in order to fund safe drinking water for disadvantaged communities living in areas with groundwater contamination. Over half said they “strongly opposed” the measure, while just 8 percent said they “strongly supported” it.

When asked their preference, three out of four voters preferred using existing state funds for providing safe drinking water to low-income communities in need, rather than establishing a new tax on drinking water. Just one in five voters chose a new tax on drinking water. Five percent said they didn’t know.

The results cross party and demographic lines, and preferences held firm even as respondents learned more about the tax proposal and its aims to provide safe drinking water to low-income communities.

“Clearly, voters want elected officials in Sacramento to use existing resources such as the state’s general fund, available federal funds, voter-approved water bonds and agricultural assessments intended for this purpose to fund the objective of this policy,” according to Tulchin Research, which conducted the poll of 1,000 likely voters in late January. The poll was commissioned by the Association of California Water Agencies and has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

The legislation in question, Senate Bill 623 by Sen. Bill Monning of Carmel, proposes taxing fertilizer, dairy products and water customers around the state to address groundwater pollution largely related to farming.

The bill is opposed by water agencies, including the San Diego County Water Authority, as well as their industry organizations such as the Association of California Water Agencies and California Municipal Utilities Association.

Opponents of the bill say the bill violates the California principle of “polluter pays” by putting the onus of cleanup on urban ratepayers. They say a greater portion of the funding for drinking water pollution cleanup should come from the agricultural and dairy industries, whose assessments make up just 15 percent of the anticipated revenue. Poll respondents agreed overwhelmingly that ratepaying customers should not be stuck with the bill.

 

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State Waits for New Water-Efficiency Proposals

/in /by by Glenn Farrel, San Diego County Water Authority

SACRAMENTO – Stakeholders statewide are reviewing and analyzing recently released new legislative language for two water-use efficiency bills that generated opposition by water agencies, including the Water Authority, when they were introduced last year.

The companion bills – AB 1668 authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (Burbank) and SB 606 by Sen. Bob Hertzberg (Van Nuys) –  propose a new water conservation ethic and aggressive water-use standards for Californians. Dozens of water agencies and stakeholders opposed the bills because of concerns related to enforcement of new laws and their failure to encourage development of new supplies such as potable reuse.

During winter recess in Sacramento, opponents provided more input on refinements that would be needed to earn water agencies’ support; some of those suggestions have been incorporated into the bills, but a number of important policy and implementation issues remain unresolved.

The Water Authority also remains actively engaged with local and regional organizations throughout San Diego County to communicate the agency’s policy positions on the long-term water use efficiency legislation.

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Water Authority Board Approves Bill Concepts

/in /by by Glenn Farrel, San Diego County Water Authority

SACRAMENTO – Water ratepayers across California would benefit from three concepts approved by the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors for legislation in 2018, and agency staff is seeking to turn the ideas into reality.

One bill – AB 2371 – would advance a series of consensus recommendations by a state Independent Technical Panel for improving water-use efficiency in outdoor landscapes. The Water Authority is co-sponsoring the legislation with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (Los Angeles) is the bill author.

The second bill – AB 2064 – would reduce cash-flow challenges for disadvantaged communities and nonprofit organizations by ensuring opportunities for advanced payment of state grant funds. Assemblymember Todd Gloria (San Diego) and Assemblymember Shirley Weber (San Diego) are joint authors of the bill.

A third bill – SB 1277 – proposes working with organizations in the Imperial Valley to develop a governance and administrative structure that helps implement the 10-year Salton Sea Management Program. Sen. Ben Hueso (San Diego) is the bill author on behalf of the Water Authority and a variety of stakeholders.

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New Water Tax on Tap in Sacramento

/in /by by Glenn Farrel, San Diego County Water Authority

SACRAMENTO – A controversial state Senate bill that would impose new taxes on California water customers is back in the legislative hopper after water agencies helped prevent its passage in 2017.

Senate Bill 623 (Monning) proposes taxing fertilizer, dairy products and water customers around the state to address groundwater pollution largely  in agricultural regions of the state.  If passed, the bill would impose a first-of-its-kind tax to raise as much as $160 million a year  to fund safe drinking water projects in disadvantaged communities.

The legislation is opposed by water agencies, including the San Diego County Water Authority, as well as numerous stakeholder organizations such as the Association of California Water Agencies, California Municipal Utilities Association, and the League of California Cities.

Opponents say the bill violates the principle of “polluter pays” by forcing urban ratepayers to cover up to 85 percent of the cost. They believe more money for drinking water pollution cleanup should come from the agricultural and dairy industries, which would pay just 15 percent of the cost under SB 623.

Opponents are advocating for alternative revenue sources for cleanup work, for instance, money from the state’s general fund, federal safe drinking water funds, general obligation bond funds, and proposed assessments related to nitrates in groundwater.