Gomberg

“There’s no urban water system that could have effectively put out those fires,” said Max Gomberg, a senior policy advisor for the California Water Impact Network, which advocates for the sustainable and equitable use of water resources.

Gomberg noted, however, that the bill has no funding, and implementing the improvements would likely cost ratepayers.

Prichard and Gomberg also pointed out that this bill only addresses a sliver of the many challenges related to the state’s vast and aging water infrastructure.

“These are difficult choices,” Gomberg said, “because you’ve got to weigh how much fire risk reduction you get from these investments versus the immediate everyday impacts to people’s ability to pay.”

Max Gomberg, a former state water official who resigned in 2022 over differences with the Newsom administration, said the proposed rules would “essentially maintain the status quo,” which has harmed the Delta’s ecosystem and fisheries, and would allow “environmentally destructive levels of water exports.”