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Committee advances bill requiring water suppliers to plan for wildfire response
Summary
SB 1153 passed from the committee after sponsors and numerous water agencies said the bill improves wildfire planning by clarifying water system roles and requiring urban retail water suppliers to add wildfire‑specific procedures to emergency plans by Jan. 1, 2028; members pressed for transparency on backup generators.
Senator Caballero (sponsor) presented SB 1153 as a practical approach to wildfire preparedness for urban retail water suppliers, saying the bill clarifies what water systems can and cannot be expected to do during wildfire events and establishes planning and coordination requirements to protect ratepayers and system reliability.
Kylie Wright of the Association of California Water Agencies, the bill sponsor organization, said the statute would require urban retail water suppliers to incorporate wildfire‑specific response, preparedness, and recovery actions into existing emergency plans beginning Jan. 1, 2028, while allowing local experts to tailor plans to operational realities. Andy Facco, general manager of Placer County Water Agency, described how recent mega fires damaged water and power infrastructure and said water systems were not designed to serve as primary wildfire‑suppression systems.
Assemblymember Bennett raised concerns that the bill provides broad liability protection to water districts and pressed the author and witnesses to improve public transparency—specifically, disclosure of the share of pumping capacity that has backup generators so communities know whether local systems have resilience during multi‑hour ember events. The sponsor and witnesses said the bill emphasizes coordination with local fire authorities and that inventories and generator information would be included in planning and coordination; the author committed to review language that would provide additional public transparency without creating security vulnerabilities.
The committee recorded a roll call on the motion that SB 1153 do pass as amended to the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials; multiple members voted aye and the roll was held open for an absent member. The bill will move to the next committees for further consideration.
