Project Update
A preliminary draft of the District’s 2010 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP 2010) is coming soon.Staff is currently working on the draft plan.
Project Description
Under the Urban Water Management Planning Act, the district, a water supply wholesaler, is required to submit an Urban Water Management Plan to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) by December 31, 2010.
The UWMP 2010 includes a general discussion on the history of Santa Clara Valley Water District as well as information on climate, demographics, and the economy of Santa Clara County. Water supply sources including groundwater, local surface water, imported water, water recycling and efforts related to desalination are described in the plan. Also included is information on historical water use, water conservation programs, demand projections, water shortage contingency and supply interruption planning, water quality, reliability and threats to reliability. In addition, the plan examines the water supply outlook in the County under different hydrologic conditions in accordance with DWR guidelines.
This plan documents important information on water use and supply in Santa Clara County and serves as a valuable resource for water supply planners and policy makers. In addition, the District’s UWMP 2010 is a foundational document for the preparation of water supply assessments and written verifications as required by Senate Bill (SB) 610 and SB 221 for projects subject to CEQA consisting of more than 500 dwelling units or equivalent water use.
SBX 7 7 grants an extension to urban retailer water suppliers for the adoption of the 2010 UWMP to July 1, 2011 in order to included technical methodologies associated with the calculation of 2015 and 2020 water use targets developed by DWR. At the time of this writing, SB 1478 is on the Assembly floor and would give a 6 month extension to wholesalers to permit coordination between urban wholesale water suppliers and retailers. The Legislature has until the end of August to pass legislation and the Governor has 30 days after that to sign or veto bills. Staff is maintaining the current schedule to complete and submit the plan by the December 31, 2010 deadline. If the bill is passed and signed, the schedule outlined below would shift by a few months.
Linkage to Water Master Plan
A large portion of the analysis performed and information gathered to satisfy the requirement of the Urban Water Management Planning Act are directly applicable to the development of the Districts Water Supply and Infrastructure Master Plan (Water Master Plan) including demand projections, supply assumptions, water supply reliability and the associated update of the water supply planning models. The Water Master Plan takes the process to the next level through the identification, weighting and prioritization of needed water supply and infrastructure projects. The UWMP 2010 is based on current operational assumptions and supplies and any shortages identified in the plan, and how to best address these, will be evaluated in the Water Master Plan.
Stakeholder Involvement
The 13 water retailers are the primary stakeholders involved in the preparation of the UWMP. Coordination of this effort with water retailers is primarily through the Retailer Water Supply Subcommittee. District staff has met with several of the retailers on an individual basis and will meet with the remaining retailers and hold follow up individual meetings as required over the coming months.
The UWMP 2010 will be presented to the Water Commission, Landscape Advisory Committee and the Agricultural Water Advisory Committee in October. Staff will also provide information related to the UWMP 2010 to the District’s Water Resources Stakeholder Review Committee (SRC) in October. The SRC is an advisory committee comprised of representatives from cities, the county, retailers, advocacy groups, and other organizations such as the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Santa Clara County Farm Bureau and Silicon Valley Leadership Group. The purpose of the SRC is to provide input and receive information from staff on all long-term water resource planning projects.
Project Schedule
Our current schedule is to complete a draft final version of the UWMP 2010 in October. We anticipate that the formal public hearing for the UWMP 2010 will be opened by the Board on October 26, 2010 closed on November 09, 2010 and adoption of the plan at the December 14, 2010 Board meeting. The public hearing will be advertised in local newspapers and notices will be provided to all cities and the County of Santa Clara, local water retail agencies, local community groups, and various local agencies and interested parties via mail and email. The UWMP 2010 will be modified as appropriate to address comments received from the public, others agencies and water retailers. The final UWMP 2010 will be submitted to DWR by the regulatory deadline of December 31, 2010.
| Coordinate with water retailers, city planners, other external stakeholders |
Through October 2010
(March 2011)
|
| Prepare Draft UWMP |
October 2010 |
| Public Hearing and Finialize Document
|
October-December 2010
(March-April 2011)
|
| Submit Final Plan to DWR |
December 2010
(May 2011)
|
Notes:
Schedule dates in parenthesis indicate the revised schedule assuming wholesalers are granted the six month extension
Related Documents
For questions related to the 2010 UWMP, contact James O’Brien at (408)265-2607, ext. 2443.
Useful External Links