Governor Newsom Please Sign SB 1469
A Powerful Tool to Encourage Consumer Water Conservation
As climate change intensifies California’s drought conditions, it is critical we support a wide range of policies to encourage water conservation for customers and water providers. SB 1469 would add a powerful tool that helps water providers encourage customers save water and fight the drought.
SB 1469 would make permanent a proven program that has encouraged California water customers to reduce their water use, helped water providers improve their conservation efforts, and helped keep water bills low for all customers, and particularly low-income customers.
SB 1469 was passed by the California Legislature and now sits on Governor Newsom’s desk.
Governor Newsom, please join labor, business, consumer and environmental groups, low-income advocates, local governments, and others in supporting and signing SB 1469.
SB 1469 Would Promote Water Conservation by Providing Customers Financial Incentives to Cut Water Use
- SB 1469 would allow private water providers to establish equitable water rates, with lower fixed monthly service charges and rates that ensure people who use the most, pay the most.
- This type of system has proven effective for energy utilities to encourage conservation and reward customers who use less water.
- With SB 1469, it will also be easier for water suppliers to maintain robust water conservation programs, including rebates for turf replacement and high-efficiency home appliances, as well as programs to assist low-income families repair leaky sprinkler systems.
- Without the passage of SB 1469, the shift away from water conservation could cause water use to increase by 5 to 10% from what it is today, all while California is in the midst of the worst drought in the last 1,200 years.
Decoupling…is vital to ensuring that water and wastewater utilities have the incentives and tools to reduce water and energy consumption.
President Obama’s Department of Energy
SB 1469 Will Benefit Low-Income Customers and Those Who Conserve
- SB 1469 is needed to keep water rates equitable. Without it, lower-income customers who use the least amount of water could see their monthly bills increase by 10 – 20%.
SB 1469 Will Help Address Climate Change and Increase Energy Efficiency
- Studies have shown water conservation measures are just as effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions as energy efficiency programs at similar costs but have the added benefit of expanding needed water supplies.
SB 1469 Makes Permanent a Proven Program
- Empirical, peer-reviewed research highlights the effectiveness of the “decoupling” program. During California’s last major drought from June 2015 – April 2017, CPUC-regulated water suppliers that implemented decoupling “adopted more aggressive conservation measures, were more likely to meet state conservation standards, and conserved more water.”¹
Organizational Support for SB 1469
Our Supporters
- Acterra
- Alliance for Water Efficiency
- Alliance to Save Energy
- American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
- Bay Area Council
- Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency
- California American Water Company (Sponsor)
- California Community Economic Development Association
- California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- California Labor Federation
- California Water Efficiency Partnership
- California Water Service (Sponsor)
- California Water Utility Council (UWUA), AFL-CIO
- California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers
- California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association
- Carson Chamber of Commerce
- Central Valley Business Federation
- City of Salinas
- City of San Mateo
- Commerce Industrial Council Chamber of Commerce
- Compton Latino Chamber of Commerce
- Cupertino Chamber of Commerce
- East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
- El Concilio California
- Friends of the River
- Gateway Chambers of Commerce Alliance
- Golden State Water Company (Sponsor)
- Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce
- Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce
- Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce
- ICON CDC
- Initiating Change in Our Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation
- International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO & CLC Local 26
- International Union of Operating Engineers Local 3
- Liberty Utilities (Sponsor)
- Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Lomita Chamber of Commerce
- Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
- Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce
- Montebello Chamber of Commerce
- NAACP, California Hawaii State Conference
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Norwalk Chamber of Commerce
- Norwalk Chamber of Commerce
- Operating Engineers Local 3
- Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
- Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce
- Salinas Council Member Steve McShane
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
- San Joaquin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- San Jose Chamber of Commerce
- San Jose Water Company (Sponsor)
- San Mateo Chamber of Commerce
- Save the American River Association
- Silicon Valley Leadership Group
- South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce
- Sustainable Silicon Valley
- Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce
- Tuolumne River Trust
- Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 160
- Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 160C
- Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 160D
- Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 205
- Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 283
- Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 484
- Valley Water
- Visalia Chamber of Commerce
- West Basin Water Association