SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) released a statement after introducing the State Water Accountability Act, co-authored by Senator Dave Cortese. During the last legislative session, Senator Hurtado authored a letter to the Department of Justice regarding data reliability, and how lack of reliability could lead to market manipulation. This was a follow up to her letter in May, also to the Department of Justice, regarding drought profiteering. 

SB 66, is the first in a series of bills she plans to bring forward based on expected recommendations from the California State Auditor’s investigation of data collection methods used by the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board. 

 “Despite the unprecedented amount of rain California is receiving this week, there is a real possibility people will again go without water later this year if drought continues,” said Senator Hurtado. “We need to be sure we can depend on the accuracy of the data the State is using to make water decisions to ensure that people don’t have to go without water needlessly. I am anticipating results from an audit of the state’s data reliability collection tools this spring, and hope it leads us towards more robust water accountability. 

“As our drought continues to worsen, exacerbated by climate change, we must safeguard and strengthen our state’s water infrastructure so that we can fulfill our water needs for our communities and economy,” says Senator Dave Cortese. “Accurate water data collection and accountability will ensure water stays a resource for the public.”

 In March 2022, Assemblymember Gray submitted a letter requesting an audit of the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board investigating the management and administration of surface water throughout California. This audit included investigation of the accuracy and competency of data collection, predictive models and procedures used by the state, which may have led to the over-release of an estimated 700,000 acre feet of water from reservoirs in the 2021 Water Year. 

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 16th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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