Water Code section 10609.16

The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and recommend, no later than October 1, 2021, guidelines and methodologies for the board to adopt that identify how an urban retail water supplier calculates its urban water use objective. The guidelines and methodologies shall address, as necessary, all of the following:

(a)

Determining the irrigable lands within the urban retail water supplier’s service area.

(b)

Updating and revising methodologies described pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 10608.20, as appropriate, including methodologies for calculating the population in an urban retail water supplier’s service area.

(c)

Using landscape area data provided by the department or alternative data.

(d)

Incorporating precipitation data and climate data into estimates of a urban retail water supplier’s outdoor irrigation budget for its urban water use objective.

(e)

Estimating changes in outdoor landscape area and population, and calculating the urban water use objective, for years when updated landscape imagery is not available from the department.

(f)

Determining acceptable levels of accuracy for the supporting data, the urban water use objective, and compliance with the urban water use objective.

Source: Section 10609.16, https://leginfo.­legislature.­ca.­gov/faces/codes_displaySection.­xhtml?lawCode=WAT§ionNum=10609.­16.­ (accessed Apr. 24, 2025).

Last Updated

Apr. 24, 2025

§ 10609.16’s source at ca​.gov