Assemblyman Gray introduces water storage bill

Assemblyman Adam Gray introduced new legislation this week to adopt targets on water storage statewide.

AB 1242 proposes California should adopt a target to increase water storage by 25 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2050. The bill would require the state Department of Water Resources to identify the capacity of California’s water resources by 2017.

“We know we need to increase water supply,” Gray, D-Merced, said in a statement. “We have been negligent in doing so, but the increased challenges posed by global warming make this a more urgent need. If we are to face new weather patterns of one or two very wet years followed by long drought periods, as many scientists claim, we do not have time to delay.”

The bill calls for an increase in water storage through both surface water and groundwater projects.

Gray said water storage should be approached the same way as renewable energy. “We need to establish targets, create incentives to reach those targets, and then hold policymakers and regulators accountable for reaching those goals,” he said.

The bill is expected to be referred back to committee.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Assemblyman Gray introduces water storage bill."