Senator Fran Pavley, Chair of the California Senate Natural Resources Committee, has introduced SB 1259, a bill that if passed and signed by the Governor would:
- Require the Department of Water Resources to gather data for review of the loss of storage capacity behind dams resulting from siltation;
- Require that siltation studies include an evaluation of cost-effective strategies for sediment removal, relative to the costs of alternative methods of flood protection and water supply; and
- Require that results of the siltation study be reflected in an upcoming update of the California Water Plan and be provided to the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and the Assembly.
The bill would require that an initial study be completed by January 1, 2017.