WAT §81301: The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Many separate cities, districts, and public utilities are responsible for distribution of water in portions of the Bay Area served by the r

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Many separate cities, districts, and public utilities are responsible for distribution of water in portions of the Bay Area served by the regional system operated by the City and County of San Francisco. Residents in the Counties of Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara who depend on the water made available on a wholesale basis by the regional system have no right to vote in elections in the City and County of San Francisco and are not represented on the San Francisco commission that oversees operation of the regional system. (b) The San Francisco regional system is vulnerable to catastrophic damage in a severe earthquake, which could result in San Francisco and neighboring communities being without potable water for up to 60 days. The San Francisco regional system is also susceptible to severe water shortages during periods of below average precipitation because of insufficient storage and the absence of contractual arrangements for alternative dry year supplies. (c) The lack of a local, intergovernmental, cooperative governance structure for the San Francisco regional system prevents a systematic, rational, cost-effective program of water supply, water conservation, and recycling from being developed, funded, and implemented. (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to enable local governments responsible for water distribution in the three counties to establish a multicounty agency authorized to plan for and acquire supplemental water supplies, to encourage water conservation and use of recycled water on a regional basis, and to assist in the financing of essential repairs and improvements to the San Francisco regional water system, including seismic strengthening. (e) The need for coordinated planning and implementation of strategies for water supply, water conservation, water recycling, and repair and improvement of the San Francisco regional system may appropriately lead to the establishment of the Bay Area Water Planning and Conservation Agency.