State Agencies Release Draft “California Water Action Plan”

On October 31st the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and Agriculture released a detailed draft “California Water Action Plan.” A final form of the plan is expected to be released in early December. 

In May, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. directed the agencies to identify key actions for the next one to five years that address urgent needs and provide the foundation for sustainable management of California’s water resources.

The draft plan identifies the many challenges facing California’s water resources, including: uncertain water supplies; water scarcity/drought; declining groundwater basins; poor water quality; declining native fish species and loss of wildlife habitat; flood risks; and, supply disruptions.

The plan focuses on ten key actions to address these challenges:

1. Make Conservation a California Way of Life

2. Increase Local and Regional Self-Reliance

3. Achieve Co-Equal Goals for the Delta

4. Protect and Restore Important Ecosystems

5. Manage and Prepare for Dry Periods

6. Expand Water Storage Capacity

7. Provide Safe Drinking Water for All Communities

8. Improve Flood Protection

9. Increase Operational and Regulatory Efficiency

10. Identify Sustainable and Integrated Financing Opportunities

Comments and questions about the draft plan may be submitted to wateraction@water.ca.gov

Brown Administration Releases First Four Of Twelve Chapters of Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Today the administration of California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. released the first four of 12 chapters of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The four chapters released today include:

• Introduction: background, planning goals, regulatory context, a description of the scope of the plan, overview of the planning process, and details of how the plan is organized.
• Existing Ecological Conditions: historic and current ecological conditions in the Delta.
• Conservation Strategy: biological goals and objectives and details of the 22 conservation measures.
• Covered Activities: activities for which permits will be sought from regulatory agencies as a result of project proponents agreeing to implement the components of the plan upon its approval.

The chapters released today can be viewed here. A public meeting to discuss these chapters is scheduled for March 20 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ramada Inn, 1250 Halyard Drive in West Sacramento.

Chapters to be released in coming weeks include those that describe:

• the effects of the plan on ecosystem processes
• plan implementation
• governance structure
• costs and funding sources
• analysis of alternative ways to minimize harm to protected species
• the role of independent science in the creation and implementation of the plan. 

The schedule for the BDCP can be viewed here.

For additional information regarding the BDCP please visit http://baydeltaconservationplan.com or contact Elizabeth Leeper or the KMTG attorney with whom you normally consult.

 

February Snow Survey Shows Snowpack At 66% Of Average

On February 28, 2013, the Department of Water Resources ("DWR") issued a news release regarding the third 2013 snow survey.  The results of the snow survey show that snowpack water content is only 66 percent of average for this time of year, and only 57 percent of the average April 1st levels, when snowpack is normally at its peak.  In comparison, the first 2013 survey performed on January 2nd, showed snowpack at 134 percent of normal for that date.  The current low snowpack levels are a result of the "driest January-February on record (since 1920)" for the Northern California region.

The low snow levels are a concern for water suppliers and water users throughout the State, because snowpack--"often called California's 'frozen reservoir'--normally provides about a third of the water for California's farms and communities."  The news release states that "[f]orecasters note there could be a weather turnaround in March, but it is unlikely late-season storms will make up the water supply deficit."

DWR Director Mark Cowin stated that "[n]ear-record dry weather combined with pumping restrictions to protect Delta smelt are making this a gloomy water supply year[.]"  DWR "currently estimates that it will be able to deliver 40 percent of the slightly more than 4 million acre-feet of State Water Project (SWP) water requested for this calendar year by the 29 public agencies that supply more than 25 million people and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland."  The last 100 percent allocation--"difficult to achieve even in wet years because of pumping restrictions to protect Delta fish--was in 2006."

Although snowpack levels are low, "most key storage reservoirs are above or near historic levels for the date thanks to November and December storms."  However, the San Luis Reservoir, "a critical offstream reservoir south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is only at 69 percent of its historic level for the date . . . because of Delta smelt pumping restrictions."

For additional information regarding this post, please contact Elizabeth Leeper or the KMTG attorney with whom you normally consult.