Water: Urban Water Community Drought Relief program: Small Community Drought Relief program: high fire hazard and very high fire hazard severity zones.

Senator Alvarado-Gil's drought relief legislation establishes two new grant programs within California's Department of Water Resources, creating distinct funding pathways for urban and rural communities to address water supply challenges and reduce wildfire risks. The Urban Water Community Drought Relief program would provide grants to communities served by urban water suppliers, while the Small Community Drought Relief program would serve rural areas and communities not connected to urban water systems.

Both programs would fund immediate drought response measures, including emergency water deliveries, infrastructure construction, and wildlife protection efforts. The programs also authorize grants for water delivery system improvements specifically aimed at enhancing fire suppression capabilities in state-designated high and very high fire hazard severity zones. The bill's findings note that aging infrastructure and resource limitations have left many rural areas particularly vulnerable to unchecked fire activity, citing the destruction and multibillion-dollar recovery costs from fires like the Camp, Caldor, and Dixie incidents.

The urban program includes additional provisions for water conservation initiatives such as fixture replacement incentives and drought-tolerant landscaping programs. Implementation of both programs would require separate appropriations from the state legislature. The Department of Water Resources would oversee grant administration, with projects required to demonstrate benefits to either urban water supplier service areas or small/rural communities as defined under existing state law.