Bottled Water Bill
On September 30, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill introduced by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes (D-Arleta) that would have mandated California bottled water companies to report to the California Department of Public Health the quantity of water used for bottling. In addition, it would have required the CDPH to make those reports publicly available.
IBWA and the California Bottled Water Association objected to this bill because it singled out the bottled water industry to report its water withdrawals and disclose publicly the location of water sources. IBWA and CBWA attempted to work with Assemblyman Fuentes to amend the legislation to permit total bottled water withdrawal reporting without site-specific information, but the final version did not incorporate the changes that both associations could support.
In his veto message, Gov. Schwarzenegger indicated this bill was not a priority for the state; therefore, he vetoed it.
Water Softener Bill
In addition, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have required the Department of Water Resources to establish statewide water-recycling targets every five years. It would have enabled local governments to exert greater control over salinity discharges into their sewer systems, including those from water softeners. If a local agency adopted an ordinance requiring the removal of a water softener, the local agency would have been required to provide a program to compensate owners, as determined by a local agency.
In his veto message, the Governor stated, “…current law already includes provisions that allow local agencies to regulate water softeners. The provisions of this bill create a system that could unduly limit choices for consumers and small water systems, with potentially little positive impact given the relatively limited contribution of water softeners to our salinity problems.”
The Water Quality Association and the Pacific Water Quality Association has lobbied against the measure and had urged the Governor to veto it.