BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:Title
Monthly Drought Emergency Response, Water Supply Update, and Water Use Reduction Enforcement Plan.
*PREVIOUSLY LISTED AS ITEM 2.12
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RECOMMENDATION:Recommendation
Receive an update on water supply conditions in Santa Clara County, staff’s drought response efforts, and water use reduction enforcement plan and provide direction to staff, as necessary.
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SUMMARY:
On June 9, 2021, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) Board declared a water shortage emergency condition pursuant to California Water Code §350, called for countywide water use reduction of 15% compared to 2019, and urged Santa Clara County to proclaim a local emergency. The County ratified its proclamation of a drought emergency on June 22, 2021. On April 12, 2022, the Board called for no more than 2 days of irrigation in a week for lawns and ornamental landscapes and prohibited excessive runoff and midday irrigation.
Reflecting critically dry conditions across the state, in 2021 and 2022 Valley Water received drastic reductions in imported water allocations, which comprise about half of Valley Water’s typical annual water supply. Valley Water is also 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 in receiving emergency water transfers results in increased risk for subsidence in North County and dry wells, particularly in South 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, and plans to implement a water use reduction enforcement plan. The latest water supply conditions in the County will be described in the current month’s Water Tracker Report. The water use reduction enforcement plan and other drought response efforts will be described in the Drought Response Report. These reports will be added in the 3-day supplemental agenda item.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
Valley Water acknowledges that disadvantaged communities are disproportionately impacted by the effects of drought. To address these impacts, Valley Water promotes access to equitable and affordable water supplies (Water Supply Goal 2.6). Valley Water offers the Lawn Busters program to provide water-efficient landscapes to low-income, elderly, disabled or veteran homeowners and schools within disadvantaged communities. Valley Water currently provides the Low-Income Residential Water Rate Assistance Program to help low-income households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic pay their water bills. To enable meaningful engagement in the decision-making process, Valley Water provides drought and conservation information in multiple languages, answers questions, and accepts feedback through Valley Water’s BeHeard webpage, conservation and drought webpages, Speakers Bureau presentations, media outreach, public outreach presentations, hotlines, and email.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The implementation of a new water use reduction enforcement plan may require additional funding for which a budget adjustment will be brought to the Board for approval.
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:
*Supplemental Agenda Memo
*Supplemental Attachment 1: PowerPoint
*Supplemental Attachment 2: Drought Response Report
*Supplemental Attachment 3: May 2022 Water Tracker
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:Manager
Aaron Baker, 408-630-2135