Water Use

SB 1224 required that toilets sold or installed in 1994 or later use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush — a standard adopted nationally in the Energy Policy Act of 1992. It also required urinals to use a gallon of water or less per flush.

SB 553 updated best management practices for Urban Water Management Plans by revising the list of water conservation programs, such as residential ultra-low-flush toilet replacement and high-efficiency washing machine rebate programs. Further, in 2009, AB 1465 required Urban Water Management Plans to include descriptions of water conservation goals, and implementation and reporting measures. 

AB 952 provided tax incentives for the purchase of water conservation devices, such as water- and energy-conserving clothes washers, and toilets that flush 1.6 gallons or less. Further, in 2002, AB 1561 set higher statewide water-efficiency standards for residential clothes washers.

AB 514 required water users to be fully metered and metered users to start being charged volumetrically. Further, in 2004, AB 2572 required all water connections in California be metered by 2025 and that customers with meters be billed based upon water use, rather than a flat fee. In 2007, SB 1050 changed the State Water Code to allow water suppliers that promoted conservation through volumetric water pricing to charge for the actual volume of metered water delivered.

AB 2717 created a statewide task force on outdoor landscape water conservation. As a result, in 2006, AB 1881 implemented the task force’s recommendations, including adoption of water-efficient landscape ordinances around the state, standards for landscape irrigation equipment, separate water meters for large landscapes, and prohibitions against banning low-water use plants. 

In 2017 and 2018, after a historic drought and statewide restrictions on water use, the Water Authority worked with other stakeholders to help shape Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668. This groundbreaking legislation set the framework for budget-based water-use efficiency targets for water agencies. Now the Water Authority and other water suppliers are working with the Department of Water Resources and State Water Resources Control Board to develop the details of the new water-use efficiency targets. In 2024, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted the Making Conservation a California Way of Life regulation which outlines how water suppliers will calculate their water use targets.