The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Santa Ana Watershed is experiencing increased water demands due to significant population growth that has caused undue infrastructure dependence and strain on imported water supplies.
(b) Regional programs have been developed to address the problems facing the watershed. These programs have four main elements, as follows:
(1) Storage of more than one million acre-feet of water from wet years in groundwater storage basins.
(2) Conservation, including water use efficiency and reclamation, that results in the substantial development of new usable supplies.
(3) Desalting and treatment of brackish water to allow poor quality water to be reclaimed and used.
(4) Enhancement of native habitat along the river and its tributaries.
(c) The water supply programs proposed by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority will develop significant new water supply and storage capabilities, thereby reducing the imported water needs of urban southern California, especially during dry years.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 725, Sec. 1. Approved in Proposition 13 at the March 7, 2000, election.)