21568. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that severe drought conditions and climate change have negatively impacted the imported water supplies of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, necessitating an increase in local water supplies, including recycled water, and the construction of water infrastructure to more efficiently transport limited water supplies within the district’s service area.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that alternative project delivery, using the best value procurement methodology, has been authorized for various agencies that have reported benefits from those projects not achievable through the traditional design-bid-build method, including reduced project costs and expedited project start and completion.
(c) This article provides for a range of procurement methods for district projects, including a planned regional recycled water project, designed to counteract the negative impacts of severe and ongoing drought and the continuing impacts of climate change on water supplies in southern California.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to authorize the district to utilize the methods specified herein as cost-effective options for accelerating the construction of drought-resilient water infrastructure projects.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 275, Sec. 2. (AB 1845) Effective January 1, 2023.)
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