WAT §13910: The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Fostering regional cooperative efforts to improve water quality and local sustainable water supply is fundamental for developing California

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Fostering regional cooperative efforts to improve water quality and local sustainable water supply is fundamental for developing California’s 21st century water portfolio. (b) Stormwater capture, treatment, and use as a water supply is increasingly viewed as an innovative opportunity to improve water quality where it is viable and economically feasible. (c) Municipal wastewater agencies have existing infrastructure, capacity, and expertise that could be used to assist in meeting the state’s water quality and water supply goals when circumstances allow, while allowing wastewater agencies to still meet their primary goals of meeting water quality requirements for wastewater discharge and avoiding sanitary sewer overflows. However, in some circumstances municipal wastewater agencies may need explicit legislative authority before they can pursue certain types of projects. (d) In order to promote regional interagency cooperation, improve the quality of the waters of the state, and make efficient use of publicly owned infrastructure, it would be beneficial if municipal wastewater agencies had the authority to enter into voluntary agreements for stormwater projects in the future, where cost effective and regionally suitable.