BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT:
Title
Consider the November 6, 2023, and January 2, 2024, Recommendations from the Board Policy and Planning Committee to Adopt the One Water Guadalupe and Upper Pajaro Watershed Plans.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Consider recommendations resulting from the November 6, 2023, and January 2, 2024, Board Policy and Planning Committee meetings to:
A. Consider the November 6, 2023, Board Policy and Planning Committee Recommendation to Adopt the One Water Guadalupe Watershed Plan; and
B. Consider the January 2, 2024, Board Policy and Planning Committee Recommendation to Adopt the One Water Upper Pajaro Watershed Plan.
Body
SUMMARY:
One Water is Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (Valley Water) public planning process to identify watershed management needs and identify actions to address them. Watershed actions are then combined with water supply actions into a comprehensive 30-year plan. The process, adopted in March 2022 as the One Water Countywide Framework, builds stakeholder and regulatory support for Valley Water’s mission through an extensive public engagement process; provides a long-term watersheds capital improvement plan for financial forecasting and funding acquisition; and facilitates the integration of critical watershed management priorities into water supply projects. For water supply and climate change objectives, One Water incorporates information from the Water Supply Master Plan, Climate Change Action Plan, Asset Management Plans, and other relevant planning documents to identify Priority Actions. For water quality, flood risk, and natural ecosystems objectives, Priority Actions are identified through extensive analysis of existing watershed conditions, gap identification using metric and target data, external stakeholder outreach, and expert staff review.
The One Water public process includes stakeholder cohorts representing academic, agriculture, business, civic/public policy, environmental, flood, housing and neighborhoods, local government, open space and conservation, resource conservation, state government, stormwater, transportation, tribal, and water supply. A Regulatory Agency Planning Team also provided input to align the One Water process with regulatory requirements. Public input received on the Guadalupe and Upper Pajaro Watershed Plans is provided as Attachments 1 and 2. The full plans are included as Attachments 3 and 4.
New Planning Procedure: Flood Vulnerability Assessment
Historically, Valley Water designed flood protection projects to remove parcels from FEMA’s flood insurance maps, which are based on the extent of floodwaters from a 1% (100-year) event. Recognizing that these large infrastructure projects were becoming cost prohibitive and/or undesirable to the community, the Board of Directors approved a revised approach in 2021 to focus on providing health and safety throughout the County. This revised approach is reflected in Board Governance Ends Policy E-3.3.
As part of the One Water planning analysis, staff developed a new procedure which implements the revised Ends Policy. The procedure utilizes a variety of modelling and spatial data representing physical, statistical, and social risk factors to assess watershed-wide flood vulnerability. Physical hazards, including deep or fast-moving flood waters in addition to flood extent, are identified for the 25-year return interval storm. The location of statistical hazards including frequent floods and hot spots as identified by the Flood Information Team (FIT) program are also incorporated. Finally, social vulnerability to flooding as measured by the location of underserved communities and critical facilities are added. Spatial overlay of these data results in a “heat map” that identifies potential future projects, which are recommended for further study, project definition, and cost estimation.
In the Guadalupe watershed, there are several areas identified through the Flood Vulnerability Assessment that are at risk of flooding, including Calero Creek, Alamitos Creek, Upper Guadalupe River, Canoas Creek, and Ross Creek. Most of the areas identified as high-risk will be addressed through the Upper Guadalupe River Project, currently in the design phase in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For all other areas, new planning studies should be undertaken to evaluate flood risk reduction alternatives and recommend a final project that can be designed and constructed.
Similarly, in the Upper Pajaro watershed, the assessment identified flood vulnerability adjacent to Lower Llagas Creek near its confluence with Pajaro River, Uvas Creek from southern Gilroy to its confluence with Pajaro River, and West Little Llagas Creek in Morgan Hill and San Martin. Flood vulnerability associated with Lower Llagas Creek would be addressed by the Lower Llagas Capacity Restoration Project, which is a potential future Valley Water CIP project. Flood vulnerability associated with Uvas and West Little Llagas Creeks should be addressed by new planning studies. The ponding of flood waters in the lower portion of the Upper Pajaro Watershed is referred to as the Soap Lake floodplain (Soap Lake, also known as San Felipe Lake). Soap Lake acts as a natural flood detention basin reducing peak flows that would otherwise increase flooding downstream in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Due to this flood risk reduction benefit, as well as ecological and water supply benefits, it is important to keep this natural flood detention. The Soap Lake Floodplain Preservation Project by the Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority is designed to preserve the natural floodplain characteristics and flood storage capacity of Soap Lake through the acquisition of land and flood conservation easements.
Priority Actions
The key outcome of the One Water planning process is a comprehensive list of short term (0-10 year), medium term (11-20 year) and long-term (21-30 year) Priority Actions. Priority Actions are projects, programs, studies, or partnerships which address the watershed’s critical ecological, water quality, flood risk, water supply, and climate change adaptation needs, as identified through the metrics and community input. A rough order of magnitude cost estimate, lead department, and potential partner agencies are identified for each Priority Action. Draft Priority Actions were vetted through an executive steering committee and then presented to the Board Policy and Planning Committee and relevant Board Advisory Committees before being considered by the full Board for adoption. With adoption, the Board confirms the identified Priority Actions to be moved into Valley Water operational projects and capital programs.
Flood protection, natural ecosystems, and water quality Priority Actions are summarized below, along with an estimate of total short-term costs for those that are not included in current capital or operating budgets.
Guadalupe Watershed Priority Actions
As described above, the Guadalupe Watershed Plan identified five areas vulnerable to flooding in the Guadalupe Watershed. Of these five, two will be addressed by the Upper Guadalupe Flood Protection Project, while three are recommended for planning studies: Alamitos Creek (approximately 270 acres and 357 parcels, including a school, at risk of flooding in a 25-year event); Ross Creek (partially addressed by the Upper Guadalupe Flood Protection Project, but approximately 231 acres and 1,214 parcels at risk of flooding in a 25-year event); and Calero Creek (approximately 72 acres and 91 parcels at risk of flooding in a 25-year event). New flood risk reduction actions, including conducting planning studies for vulnerable areas, would cost up to $13,000,000 in the short term (defined as 0-10 years after plan adoption). These costs are based on typical Valley Water planning phase budget and are similar to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standard costs.
Guadalupe Ecological Resources and Water Quality Priority Actions reflect a focused stakeholder engagement process which developed a ‘habitat vision’ for each subwatershed in the Guadalupe. Priority Actions implement the Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) habitat improvement projects, assess the feasibility of the Alamitos Drop Structure to enhance aquatic habitat, partnerships to improve wildlife connectivity, reduce wildlife risk, and maximize habitat potential of watershed lands, and partnerships to reach a functional zero number of unsheltered people residing in waterways. The total cost of short-term (0-10 years following plan adoption) water quality and ecological resource actions within the Guadalupe Watershed is projected to be up to $206,000,000. This total includes up to $100,000,000 for Priority Action WQ-05: Partner with Santa Clara County, cities, and other organizations to reach a functional zero number of unsheltered people residing on Valley Water lands along waterways.
Upper Pajaro Priority Actions
Flood Protection Priority Actions in the Upper Pajaro watershed include a planning study for Uvas Creek, where flooding caused the temporary closure of Highway 101 in 2023, and where there are approximately 400 acres and 5,466 parcels at risk of flooding from a 25-year flood event. A planning study is also recommended for the West Little Llagas Creek area in rural San Martin/Morgan Hill. The total cost of short-term (0-10 year start time) flood protection actions within the Upper Pajaro Watershed is projected to be up to approximately $110,000,000. The Lower Llagas Capacity Restoration Project which is included in the CIP but is currently unfunded, is included in this cost estimate.
Ecological Resources Priority Actions reflect the Upper Pajaro Watershed’s diverse natural resources and seek to conserve sensitive natural communities, improve habitat connectivity, expand riparian corridors, enhance fish passage, and work with partners to enhance ecological assets such as San Felipe Lake. Water Quality Priority Actions include expanding data collection efforts, reducing the impact of agriculture on water quality, and partnering with cities to address urban runoff issues. Staff are currently developing the Upper Pajaro Native Ecosystem Enhancement Tool, a GIS analysis which will identify precise locations where these actions are needed. The total cost of short-term water quality and ecological resource actions within the Upper Pajaro Watershed is projected to be up to approximately $24,500,000.
Next steps
Following Board adoption, the Guadalupe and Upper Pajaro Watershed Priority Actions will be incorporated into future capital and operating budgets as funding allows. Due to high costs, additional planning and countywide prioritization of flood protection actions will be necessary once all five watershed plans are complete, estimated in late 2026.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IMPACT:
The One Water planning process directly addresses equity and environmental justice by providing for targeted outreach to environmental justice communities, returning decision-making power to the historically underrepresented. The Framework also incorporates a new protocol for flood protection planning to address the health and safety of the most vulnerable, prioritizing actions that reduce flood risk in disadvantaged communities, and reporting progress through an environmental justice metric. Finally, the One Water planning process is objective and data-driven, ensuring transparency and equity.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Sufficient funding for future One Water planning is included in the Proposed FY2024-25 Operating and Capital Budget and will be included in future year budget requests. There is no financial impact associated with adopting the Guadalupe and Upper Pajaro Watershed Plans, as funding for priority actions would be approved as a part of appropriate capital or operating budget processes.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have a potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Guadalupe Public Participation
Attachment 2: Upper Pajaro Public Participation
Attachment 3: Guadalupe Watershed Plan
Attachment 4: Upper Pajaro Watershed Plan
Attachment 5: PowerPoint
*Handout 5.1-A: Irvin
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Lisa Bankosh, 408-630-2618