10003.10.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to invest state funding in programs and projects that improve the state’s water supply reliability and that promote all of the following principles:

(a) An immediate response to the urgent crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by protecting its ecosystems and the integrity of its water supply through appropriate emergency measures, sustainable projects, and long-term solutions.

(b) Water agencies and local governments within each region should collaborate to develop, to the extent reasonably possible, regional reliance on water resources within their region, in order to minimize reliance on water resources from other regions.

(c) Each region should integrate and coordinate use of water resources from all available sources, including surface water and groundwater. The state should support regions that take responsibility for coordinated management of their own diverse water resources.

(d) Water use efficiency, including conservation, recycling, reuse, and stormwater capture, provides one of the least expensive and least resource-intensive methods to enhance water supply reliability.

(e) Safe and reliable drinking water for all communities, including disadvantaged communities, should be among the state’s top water policy objectives.

(f) Water projects should contribute multiple benefits, to the extent reasonably possible, including benefits to water supply, water quality, the environment, and flood protection.

(g) State funding should be used for water projects that provide cost-effective benefits to the state as a whole, but with the understanding that the beneficiaries of the projects should carry the strong majority of the costs consistent with historic patterns.

(h) State and local agencies that use state funding should be accountable for completion and outcomes that support statewide water supply reliability.

(i) State and local agencies should consider the effects of a changing climate on the reliable availability of water resources for beneficial needs in the years ahead.

(j) The state’s water supply and flood control systems should be coordinated, to the extent reasonably possible, to optimize the benefits for both of these state functions.

(k) Water storage projects should include and make use of the most cost-effective strategies for accomplishing the purposes for which the storage project was designed to achieve, including the cleanup of groundwater aquifers.

(l) The state should promote improvements to water quality, including both the protection of watersheds that produce the state’s water supply and the use of the latest water treatment technology, before and after use, in accordance with a comprehensive strategy that ensures long-term sustainability.

(m) The State Water Resources Control Board should exercise its authority to the full extent provided by law to protect water quality for all beneficial uses, in conjunction with funding for projects that promote water quality.