State Sen. Dodd Introduces Bill to Improve Measurement of Local Waterways
By Eli Walsh
Bay City News Foundation
A new bill introduced by state Sen. Bill Dodd would expand the state’s ability to measure water flow in thousands of local streams in an effort to protect the state’s water supply.
California currently collects data on hundreds of waterways through the use of stream gauges, which record the amount of water flowing in a river or stream.
However, more than 3,200 local waterways, accounting for 70 percent of the state’s streams, have never been measured with a stream gauge. Another 15 percent do not currently have active gauges, according to Dodd’s bill.
In addition, less than half of the state’s roughly 1,000 active gauges provide key water management data like temperature and sedimentation.
Senate Bill 361 would require the state’s Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board to reactivate dormant stream gauges, update existing ones or install new ones throughout the state by 2030.
SB 361 would also require data from gauges that are installed and operated with public funding to be posted publicly within 10 days of collection.
“Water is the lifeblood of California and we must ensure it is managed correctly,” said Dodd, D-Napa. “Unfortunately, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and our stream monitoring systems need help.”
Dodd introduced the bill Feb. 8 with sponsorship by the Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy.
State legislators are expected to take up the bill by mid-March at the earliest, once it has been in print for at least a month.
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