BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Adopt the Resolution Adopting the 2019 San Francisco Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Update.
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RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt the Resolution ADOPTING THE 2019 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA INTEGRATED REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Body
SUMMARY:
The Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management (Bay Area IRWM) region is a nine-county effort to coordinate and improve water supply reliability, protect water quality, manage flood protection, maintain public health standards, protect habitat and watershed resources, and enhance the overall health of the San Francisco Bay (Attachment 1). Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) has participated in the Bay Area IRWM group since its formation, providing key representation for the south sub-region/Santa Clara County. Valley Water has also provided subject-matter expertise for regionwide water supply and flood/habitat projects and programs. Participation in the Bay Area IRWM provides the following benefits to Valley Water and the other participants in the region:
- Provides a valuable venue for regional collaboration across agencies.
- Improves responsiveness to regional needs and priorities.
- Helps to effectively integrate water resources management activities.
- Serves as a platform to secure state and federal grant funding, as administered by the Department of Water Resources (DWR).
IRWM Plans establish the governance structure for IRWM regions and identify the region’s unique water resources needs through member agency, community, and stakeholder input. IRWM Plans are living documents which must be maintained and updated to meet current California Water Code standards, address statewide water management priorities, and address the most current regional needs and conditions through proposed project actions. DWR reviews the proposed IRWM plans according to criteria provided in the IRWM Program Guidelines. The latest ‘statewide priorities’ from the 2016 IRWM Program Guidelines (2016 Guidelines) are shown in Attachment 2.
The Bay Area IRWM submitted its updated plan documents to DWR for review on November 12, 2019. On February 14, 2020, DWR completed its review and determined that the IRWM Plan is consistent with 2016 Guidelines (Attachment 3). The updated IRWM Plan is available online at <https://bayareairwmp.org>/irwm-plans/. Key updates to the Bay Area IRWM Plan include: 1) an improved project review process to better reflect regional goals, 2) updated groundwater quality information, 3) expanded disadvantaged and underrepresented community information and outreach plans, and 4) updated climate change impact review.
Valley Water and the other Bay Area IRWM region participants must formally adopt the updated Bay Area IRWM Plan to be eligible for continued funding.
Valley Water Participation
Participation in the Bay Area IRWM directly aligns with many of the water supply reliability, groundwater and surface water quality improvement, flood protection and risk management, and environmental protection and enhancement goals emphasized by Valley Water. Additionally, the IRWM group provides a unique mechanism to coordinate with other key Bay Area stakeholders to facilitate regional coordination and apply for grant funding.
Since 2004, Valley Water has benefitted from approximately $86.3 million in grant funding that was secured through participation in the Bay Area IRWM. The funding has supported critical projects and programs including the Lower Silver Creek and Berryessa Creek Flood Protection Projects, the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center, Shoreline Resilience Program and the Bay Area Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information System.
Proposition 1 and Plan Update
In 2014, the Proposition 1 Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act (Prop 1) authorized $510 million in IRWM grant funding to help California’s regions improve water self-reliance, security, and for climate change adaption and mitigation efforts. A total of $65 million was allocated specifically to the San Francisco Funding Area, represented by the Bay Area IRWM. These funds will be dispersed over multiple planning and implementation grant-funding rounds. Approximately 25% of these funds are targeted to be allocated to Santa Clara County (also referred to as the south sub-region).
On April 1, 2020, DWR announced Prop 1 Implementation Round 1 funding awards in the amount of $22,750,000 for the Bay Area IRWM region, including three projects in Santa Clara County. Funds were awarded to two Valley Water partnership projects: the Upstream San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection, Ecosystem Restoration, and Recreation Project and the Regional Water Conservation Project. To accept this funding, Valley Water must adopt the recently updated Bay Area IRWM Plan by Resolution (Attachment 4).
Valley Water staff will continue to participate in the implementation of the Bay Area IRWM plan. Implementation activities includes ongoing stakeholder engagement, updating the project list, coordinating Prop 1 Round 2 grant application development, monitoring project implementation, reviewing progress toward meeting IRWM Plan objectives, and updating the IRWM Plan as necessary.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Adoption of an IRWM Plan does not entail a commitment of resources to or implementation of any project, and there is no joint commitment or responsibility by the IRWM Plan participants to implement any or all the projects. However, if Valley Water does not adopt this updated plan, the Bay Area IRWM region will be ineligible for pending and future grant funding awards, including funding for the Upstream San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection, Ecosystem Restoration, and Recreation Project and the Regional Water Conservation Project. DWR’s funding of IRWM projects requires a local match, either in direct local funding or in-kind contributions. The local match for the San Francisquito Creek project will come from the Joint Powers Authority and the local match for the Regional Water Conservation Project will come from our existing Water Conservation budget.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Bay Area IRWM Participants
Attachment 2: IRWM Program Statewide Priorities
Attachment 3: DWR Plan Review
Attachment 4: Resolution
Attachment 5: PowerPoint
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Lisa Bankosh, 408-630-2618
Jerry De La Piedra, 408-630-2257