Practice Areas > Water Conservation
Water conservation is essential in California, and every water agency at every level of service has a role in facilitating it. Wholesale or retail, pumper or importer, every one of MKB’s water agency clients are compelled to at least consider approaches to water conservation. We assist our water agency clients in this effort in a variety of ways that include preparing contracts for rebate and water education programs, analyzing legislation and local enactments related to water supply and allocation, and reviewing the two most complex issues for local water agencies – the achievement of conservation goals through pricing and the preparation of local plans for allocating water.
Water Conservation Pricing
Tiered water rates and the imposition of “penalty” pricing have been used successfully throughout California as a means of controlling water use, but not without controversy. MKB assists clients in addressing legal issues raised by conservation pricing, including the interplay between conservation “rates” and the constitutional requirements of Proposition 218 as they apply to the setting of retail water rates.
Supply Allocation Plans
Every public and private water agency in California has an ability to declare a water shortage emergency condition under Water Code section 350 and to adopt regulations and restrictions for delivery and consumption of water within its service area. In February 2008, the Metropolitan Water District adopted its own “Water Supply Allocation Plan” to establish policies and procedures that will apply only in the event of such a declaration. Inspired by Metropolitan’s Plan and record dry conditions, many water agencies in southern California have been developing their own allocation plans. MKB provides legal support and assistance to its water agency clients throughout this process.
Rebates and Other Water Use Efficiency Programs
Metropolitan Water District, the California Department of Water Resources and the Bureau of Reclamation, among other sources, offer water agencies participation in ongoing incentive and rebate programs, as well as substantial grant funding for locally organized water use efficiency programs. MKB assists its clients in developing their own programs and in making existing programs available to interested ratepayers. We provide legal support for grant applications, which is particularly critical for federal grants, we negotiate and prepare co-funding agreements with local agencies and cities, we prepare professional service agreements between our clients and rebate program administrators, and we prepare a variety of agreements and licenses, as needed, to implement programs for collecting water use data, measuring industrial, commercial and residential water savings, and tracking the impacts of landscaping devices and grading alterations on water runoff.