Gov. Brown Signs $1 Billion Emergency Drought Package

By Autumn Johnson (Patch Staff)

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that provides more than $1 billion in funds to address the state’s drought crisis.

“This funding is just one piece of a much larger effort to help those most impacted by the drought and prepare the state for an uncertain future,” Brown said in a statement.

“With the lowest snowpack and driest January in recorded history, we are now in the fourth year of a drought and this drought relief package is needed to provide assistance to our state’s hardest hit communities,” Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) said. “This emergency legislation will provide funding ahead of the normal budget schedule. This is a serious crisis and everyone must do their share to conserve water in their homes and yards.”

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The bills, AB 91 and AB 92, include over $135 million in new funding for clean drinking water for some of the poorest communities in the state. The funds can be deployed quickly to provide clean drinking and bathing water. The package also includes $24 million for food assistance in hard hit agricultural areas with high unemployment. The funds will be distributed to local and regional food banks for basic nutrition and food assistance in 29 counties that have idle farmworkers due to the drought.

The drought legislation creates the Office of Sustainable Water Solutions to assist rural counties, unincorporated areas and small cities that have little or no local funds, small rate bases and huge water infrastructure needs. It will provide technical assistance to help communities that want to consolidate to better apportion costs of water system upgrades to avoid or mitigate large rate increases.

AB 92 also creates the CalConserve Revolving Fund pilot program to provide low interest loans administered by local agencies to assist homeowners in obtaining water efficient washing machines or dishwashers at no upfront cost. Eligible homeowners repay the water suppliers through their utility bills.

The package also allows contracts for projects related to the Governor’s State of Emergency to be expedited.

More information on conservation efforts can be found at www.saveourwater.com.

Information submitted by the Office of Senator Wieckowski; Image via Shutterstock

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