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Draft Emergency Water Conservation Regulations Released

On Saturday, April 18, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) released draft emergency regulations pertaining to the drought and emergency water conservation. Comments are due April 22 (a very brief comment period because they are emergency regulations). CHA is working with its Emergency Management Advisory Committee and the California Society of Healthcare Engineers (CSHE) Executive Committee to review and respond to the draft emergency regulations. Prior to the draft regulations, the SWRCB released a draft framework on April 7.

It is important to note that the draft regulations are being imposed on water suppliers to achieve a statewide 25 percent reduction in potable urban usage through Feb. 28, 2016. The draft regulations also propose a nine-tiered process to more equitably allocate the conservation savings necessary to reach the statewide 25 percent reduction.

Hospitals are urged to actively engage with their local water supplier by educating them on the hospital’s needs and letting them know how the facility can conserve water. The proposed regulations, along with a corresponding fact sheet and the proposed regulatory framework tiers (including a list of urban water suppliers) are attached.