The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) An abundant supply of clean water is essential to the public health, safety, and welfare.

(b) An abundant supply of clean water fosters the beauty of California’s environment, the expansion of industry and agriculture, maintains fish and wildlife, and supports recreation.

(c) The state’s growing population has increasing needs for clean water supplies and adequate treatment facilities.

(d) It is of paramount importance that the water resources of the state be protected from pollution and conserved, and that the groundwater basins of the state be recharged whenever possible to ensure continued economic, community, and social growth.

(e) The chief cause of water pollution is the discharge of inadequately treated waste into the waters of the state.

(f) Local agencies have the primary responsibility for the construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities to cleanse our waters, to conserve water, and recharge groundwater basins.

(g) Rising costs of construction have pushed the costs of constructing treatment facilities and facilities to conserve water and recharge groundwater basins beyond the ability of local agencies to pay.

(h) Because water knows no political boundaries, it is desirable for the state to contribute to the construction of these facilities in order to meet its obligations to protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of its people and the environment.

(i) Voluntary, cost-effective capital outlay water conservation programs can help meet growing demand for clean and abundant water supplies.

(j) Recharge of groundwater basins is an effective way to maximize availability of scarce water supplies throughout the state.

(k) California’s abundant streams, rivers, bays, estuaries, and groundwater are threatened with pollution from agricultural drainage water which could threaten public health and fish and wildlife resources and impede economic and social growth if left unchecked. Proper containment structures and treatment facilities could provide for the handling of agricultural drainage water in an environmentally sensitive manner.

(l) (1) It is the intent of this chapter to provide funds for the construction of cost-effective containment structures and treatment facilities for the treatment, storage and disposal of agricultural drainage water.

(2) It is the further intent of this chapter to provide funds for voluntary, cost-effective capital outlay water conservation programs and groundwater recharge facilities cooperatively carried out by local agencies and the department.

(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 6, Sec. 1. Approved in Proposition 44 at the June 3, 1986, election.)