BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:Title
Monthly Drought Emergency Response and Water Supply Update.
PREVIOUSLY LISTED AS ITEM 2.8.
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RECOMMENDATION:Recommendation
Receive an update on water supply conditions in Santa Clara County, drought response efforts, drought scenario modeling and planning, and provide feedback on recommended actions.
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SUMMARY:
On June 9, 2021, the Board declared a water shortage emergency condition pursuant to California Water Code ?350, that called for water use restrictions to conserve 15% of water use compared to 2019 and urged the County to proclaim a local emergency.
Reflecting critically dry conditions across the state, Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) has received drastic reductions in imported water allocations, which comprise about half of Valley Water's typical annual water supply. Furthermore, Valley Water is impacted by the unavailability of Anderson Reservoir as a surface water storage facility for the duration of the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, which is expected to last 10 years. The loss of Anderson Dam storage, lower imported water supplies, and uncertainty over emergency water transfers could result in rapid and significant drops to our groundwater levels, resulting in the potential for subsidence in North County and dry wells throughout the County. In South County, groundwater is the only drinking water supply.
Valley Water has been conducting a wide array of efforts to respond to the drought and the resulting water shortage emergency condition. These efforts along with the latest water supply condition in the County will be described in current month's Water Tracker Report and Drought Response Report. These reports will be added in the 3-day supplemental agenda item.
Drought Adaptive Management
Valley Water's adaptive management approach to address the drought will be presented, along with possible future drought scenarios. Three possible future scenarios were evaluated. Th...
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