Wolk bill kick-starts California's efforts to resolve current water crisis

SACRAMENTO–The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources voted 6-2 Monday to approve Assembly Bill 2501, legislation by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to begin addressing the most urgent water issues facing California, the risks that climate change and the crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pose to the state’s water supply.

“AB 2501 ensures that our agencies have enough money to get started this year on California’s most important water issues, particularly climate change and the protection of the Delta, the heart of California's water system,” said Wolk. “These are top priority issues that the state needs to address immediately to resolve our state’s most urgent water needs.”

Wolk’s bill prioritizes how to spend water bond funds approved by voters in 2006, appropriating $100 million to projects that protect the Delta, where the ecosystem has started collapsing for several reasons, including water project operations, invasive species, and contaminants.  The bill also allocates $50 million to strengthen Delta levees, the instability of which poses further risk to the Delta water supply.

Additionally, AB 2501 prioritizes $10 million in bond funding for that effort requires water planners to begin incorporating known risks climate change poses to the state’s water supply into existing water plans.

“Reports about the potential loss of Colorado River supplies, dwindling snow pack, and the threat of sea level rise to Delta levees highlight the growing urgency of addressing climate change in our water plans,” said Wolk. “This bill takes the very first step toward incorporating climate change information into California’s existing water planning efforts.”

AB 2501 is supported by a broad coalition of water agencies and environmental groups, including Green California, which has placed the bill on its hot list.  The bill will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.