State Water Board Issues New Drought and Conservation Reporting Order by ACWA Staff Jan 25, 2023 Water News The State Water Resources Control Board on Jan. 1 issued a “Drought & Conservation Technical Reporting Order” that requires all water systems, including those operated by urban water suppliers, to report monthly information on sources, supply and demand, supply augmentation and demand reduction actions on a quarterly frequency. The complete submittal of monthly reports in 2023 will now satisfy the Electronic Annual Report’s supply and demand reporting, which is collected in 2024. The report covering January, February and March will be due April 30 and must be submitted using the new web-based reporting tool, SAFER Clearinghouse. The order also notes that there may be a change in reporting frequency and public water agencies may be required to provide addition drought reporting on a weekly or monthly basis. This reporting is in addition to ongoing monthly conservation and production reports via the DRINC Portal. The State Water Board intends to retire the DRINC Portal as soon as possible and utilize the SAFER Clearinghouse as the platform for fulfilling monthly conservation reporting requirements. The State Water Board will be hosting a series of virtual question-and-answer sessions over the next few months on the order. The sessions will be held from noon – 1 p.m. and anyone interested in learning more about the reporting requirements are encouraged to register using the links below. Feb. 2 Feb. 15 March 27 April 13 April 25 More information about the reporting requirements, including a fact sheet, is also available on the State Water Board’s website.
