History of the Executive Order

DWR, the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California Energy Commission have collaborated to identify actions and recommendations that can satisfy the directives issued in 2016 by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in Executive Order B-37-16, and identify a timeline for their implementation.With the stakeholder input, the state agencies (mentioned above) developed actions and recommendations to address all the directives in the Executive Order.

Actions that will be implemented within existing authorities:

• Emergency water conservation regulation for 2017
• Permanent prohibition of wasteful practices
• Reduce water supplier leaks and water losses
• Certification of innovative technologies for water conservation and energy efficiency

Recommendations that will require additional authority for implementation:

• New water use targets based on strengthened standards
• Strengthen urban water shortage contingency plan
• Improve drought planning for small water suppliers and rural communities
• Update agricultural water management plan requirements

Directives that will be incorporated into the above actions and recommendations, where applicable:

• Acceleration of data collection
• Consultation
• Methods for reporting, compliance, and enforcement

The five state agencies prepared a report on the conservation framework for the Governor’s Office, the State Legislature, and the public to summarize their individual and collective implementation actions and recommendations for all items contained in Executive Order B-37-16 to achieve the goal of making conservation a way of life in California.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) and four other State agencies (EO Agencies) worked collaboratively to identify actions and recommendations that can satisfy the directives issued by the Governor in EO-B-37-16 and to identify a timeline for their implementation.

Comments and input were provided through the direct dialogue during various public meetings and workshops, and through additional written communication through emails and transmittals. Stakeholders and interested parties were also encouraged to submit written comments and input. All input and comments were considered by the EO Agencies to improve the long-term framework development. No specific responses to comments will be provided.

Two specific advisory groups were established by invitation to assist EO Agencies to develop actions and recommendations for implementation.

• EO B-37-16 Urban Advisory Group (UAG) (Roster, Charter)

• EO B-37-16 Agricultural Advisory Group (AAG) (Roster, Charter)

A short summary of each of the meetings is shown below.  Click on the meeting date for its agenda and any other meeting materials associated.

General Sessions

• October 5, 2016. SWRCB Board Workshop on EO B -37-16 and Implementation. This informational item focused on Update on Emergency Water Conservation Regulation and Implementation of Executive Order B-37-16 (Making Conservation a California Way of Life).

• October 11, 2016. CEC Staff Workshop Innovative Water Conservation and Water Loss Detection and Control Technologies. Energy Commission staff conducted a public informational proceeding to gather information on innovative water conservation and water loss detection and control technologies.

• December 7, 2016. A joint meeting of the Urban Advisory Group and Agricultural Advisory Group to review the Public Review Draft Report. Written comments on the Public Review Draft Report were encouraged to be submitted to wue@water.ca.gov no later than December 19th, 2016.

Initial listening Sessions

These listening sessions were hosted by the Department of Water Resources, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture.

• June 3, 2016. Listening Session #1 – Urban and Agricultural Directives.  Public listening sessions regarding the implementation of Governor Brown's Executive Order to continue water conservation. The June 3 session addressed both urban (morning) and agricultural (afternoon) implementation.

• June 6, 2016. Listening Session #2 - Urban Directives.   Public listening sessions regarding the implementation of Governor Brown's Executive Order to continue water conservation. The June 6th session addressed urban implementation.

• June 9, 2016. Listening Session #3 - Agricultural and County Drought Planning Directives. Public listening sessions regarding the implementation of Governor Brown's Executive Order to continue water conservation. The June 9th session addressed agricultural and county drought planning implementation.

Water Shortage Contingency Planning (WSCP)

The objective of these meetings was to present and receive comments on a framework and key concepts that would result in Water Shortage Contingency Plans that water suppliers are able to implement quickly and effectively during statewide droughts as directed in Executive Order B-37-16, Action #8 and during local water shortages.

• August 31, 2016. Water Shortage Contingency Planning Workshop #1.

• September 1, 2016. Water Shortage Contingency Planning Workshop #2.

• October 3, 2016. Water Shortage Contingency Planning Technical Workshop #2. This meeting focused on the proposed WSCP framework for urban suppliers, especially the development of standards for: WSCPs, annual assessments, WSCP triggering criteria, staged responses, and reporting requirements.

• October 13, 2016. EO B-37-16 Water Shortage Contingency Planning Workshop – Focus on Drought Planning for Small Water Suppliers and Rural Communities. This meeting allowed participants to discuss the current shortcomings in drought planning of small water suppliers and for rural communities to help foster approaches to facilitate improvements. Elements of the proposed urban water supplier WSCP framework was used as a foundation where appropriate. We covered what activities have already taken place and we looked for feedback from stakeholders, gathered input, and discussed needs and remedies for drought contingency plans.

• April 6, 2017. County Drought Contingency Planning Webinar. This webinar was part of our continuing efforts to implement Directive 10 of Executive Order B-37-16.

• June 20, 2017. County Drought Contingency Planning Workshop. Meeting objectives included: discussing framework elements and implementation considerations; sharing county data collection efforts and experiences; and discussing categories of response actions for various stages. Participation by webinar was strongly encouraged.

Urban Advisory Group (UAG)

• August 15, 2016. Urban Advisory Group Meeting #1. This meeting had a listen-only webinar broadcast. We recommended personal attendance at the meeting to provide comments in person or participate in the discussions. Written comments could also be submitted any time at by email. 

• September 19 and 20, 2016. Urban Advisory Group Meeting #2. DWR and SWRCB staff provided an update; reviewed the draft framework proposal on strengthening local drought resilience, eliminating water waste, and using water more wisely;  and discussed considerations for January 10, 2017 Report.

• October 20, 2016. Urban Advisory Group Meeting #3. Meeting participants received updates on the draft Framework from the Eliminate Water Waste, Strengthen Local Drought Resilience, and Use Water More Wisely project teams. Participants had an opportunity review EO State Agencies next steps in finalizing the Draft January 10, 2017 Report.

Other Urban Group EO Meetings

• September 6, 2016. Long-Term Water Use Targets Workshop #1.

• September 8, 2016. Long-Term Water Use Targets Workshop #2.

DWR and SWRCB staff presented initial concepts and sought input on establishing long-term water use standards and targets as directed by Executive Order B-37-16 Action #3.

• December 14, 2016. Landscape Area Measurement Workgroup. This meeting was to discuss landscape area measurement and how landscape area is defined ahead of the State's effort to measure urban landscape area across the state in support of the proposed new water use target framework.

+Agricultural Advisory Group (AAG)

• August 25, 2016. Agricultural Advisory Group Meeting #1. This meeting was a listen-only webinar broadcast. We recommended personal attendance at the meeting if to provide comments in person or participate in the discussions. Written comments could also be submitted any time by email. 

• September 26, 2016. Agricultural Advisory Group Meeting #2. DWR and CDFA provided an update on progress in EO implementation framework development to address EO Directive, “Improve Agricultural Water Use Efficiency and Drought Planning,” and reviewed proposed methodology for quantification of the efficiency of agricultural water use.

• October 18, 2016. Agricultural Advisory Group Meeting #3. Meeting participants received updates on the Draft Framework to address the EO item, “Improve Agricultural Water Use Efficiency and Drought Planning.” Likewise, participants had an opportunity to discuss updates from the County water shortage contingency plan workshop held on October 13th, and review EO State Agencies next steps in finalizing the Draft January 10, 2017 Report.

Comments and input provided during development of an implementation plan to identify actions and recommendations, along with a timeline for their implementation, to satisfy the directives issued by the Governor in EO-B-37-16 for a long-term conservation framework included direct dialogue during various public meetings and workshops that are documented in the meeting summaries.  Additional written comments were submitted through emails and transmittals. All input and comments were considered by the EO Agencies to improve the long-term framework development.  No specific responses will be provided. 

The comment list and subject commented on is available for viewing. Please contact us to request copies of individual comments from the list. 

Comment subjects included:

1. Urban Water Use Targets

2. Urban Water Shortage Contingency Plan

3. Agricultural Water Use

4. Water Supplier Leaks Water Losses

5. Small Systems and Rural Areas

6. Water Board Rulemaking (EO#1, #3, and #4)

7. CEC Certification of Innovative Technologies (EO#7)

8. County Drought Contingency Plans (EO#10)

The following EO items are subject to a separate process by the corresponding agency.  For details on their public process and implementation status, please visit their webpage or provided link where provided.  

• EO#1, Emergency Water Conservation Regulation for 2017 (SWRCB)

• EO#3, Permanent Requirements for Monthly Reporting from Urban Water Suppliers (SWRCB)

• EO#4, Permanent Prohibition in Wasteful Practices (SWRCB)