BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:Title
Receive Information on the Annual Work Study Session on Water Supply Master Plan Monitoring and Assessment Program Update - Drought Response Actions and the Long-term Water Supply Planning.
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RECOMMENDATION:Recommendation
A. Receive Information on the Annual Work Study Session on Water Supply Master Plan Monitoring and Assessment Program Update - Drought Response Actions and the Long-term Water Supply Planning; and
B. Provide direction to staff.
Body
SUMMARY:
Santa Clara County (County) has been in an extreme drought since 2020, with limited local surface runoff, reduced imported water supply, and low surface reservoir storage levels. In responding to the drought condition, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) declared a water shortage emergency condition in June 2021 that called for 15% water use reduction to minimize water shortage risk. The call for water conservation has been instrumental in reducing county-wide water use and helps alleviate the negative consequence of the ongoing drought. Since the call, county-wide water use has been reduced by 6% cumulatively against a 2019 baseline.
Since the current situation reflects past planning and implementation efforts and future conditions will be impacted by present day planning, the need to describe the link between short-term drought response actions and long-term water supply planning was raised by the Water Conservation and Demand Management Committee. This includes whether the need to call for water use reduction during droughts could be prevented by better long-range water supply planning. This memorandum provides rationales for short-term water use reduction calls within the context of long-range water supply planning. It also discusses the selection of the base year for the reduction call, as well as current efforts and next steps for enhancing future drought response actions.
Goals of Water Supply Planning
Valley Water's long-range w...
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