Gov Newsom Signs CA Disaster Preparedness Bill – But Protects Water Agencies From Liability

It was sponsored by the Association of California Water Agencies, who have an interest in indemnity, and came after lawsuits over dry hydrants in the January 2025 Palisades fire, and Eaton fire claims, against the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Bill sponsor ACWA says it does not change negligence standards or bar claims based on negligent maintenance. Courts will decide whether the “not a substantial cause” clause still blocks those suits in practice.

Here is the mind-blowing caveat: The bill adds Government Code section 8607.3 and states that nothing, including any other law, imposes a duty on public water systems, including wholesale systems, to design, construct, or maintain a water system for wildfire defense or suppression.

It also provides that:

• Failure of an urban retail water supplier to implement or comply with the new incident-specific procedures is not a “substantial cause” of wildfire damages.
• Inability of any public water system to maintain water supply or pressure during a wildfire is not a “substantial cause” of those damages.
• Spread of wildfire is not an inherent risk of the deliberate design, construction, or maintenance of a public water system.

Former LA Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, offered his analysis to this sham bill:

Buried in this bill Gavin signed is a big “fuck you” to the Palisades. We are suing LADWP for draining our reservoir (which was built for fire protection), and leaving us with dry hydrants. This bill now says LADWP doesn’t have to provide water for firefighting AT ALL. And when their negligence leaves us with no water to fight fire, Gavin is prohibiting any accountability for the water utility for leaving people to die, precluding fire victims from recovering losses from a catastrophic wildfire. At EVERY turn, this scumbag finds ways to block fire victims from being made whole by incompetent, negligent, and corrupt bureaucrats and big utility providers when they routinely destroy entire towns.

Buried in this bill Gavin signed is a big "fuck you" to the Palisades. We are suing LADWP for draining our reservoir (which was built for fire protection), and leaving us with dry hydrants. This bill now says LADWP doesn't have to provide water for firefighting AT ALL. And when… https://t.co/bapq42JaLp pic.twitter.com/MRpjil6SmE

— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) September 30, 2026

Beginning January 1, 2028, urban retail water suppliers serving a high fire hazard severity zone must include “incident-specific wildfire response procedures in their disaster preparedness plans,” including any emergency response plan required under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Those procedures cover mitigation actions, equipment, and steps that can reduce a wildfire’s impact on the water system and drinking-water supply. Plans are reviewed at least every five years.

What the law does do is declare that an empty hydrant during a wildfire is not, by itself, proof that the water agency failed a duty it was supposed to have.

Violation can be a misdemeanor for covered suppliers, which creates a state-mandated local program.

Yeah, right.