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brs 2/28/22 <br />WHEREAS, Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution declares that the <br />general welfare requires that water resources be put to beneficial use, waste or <br />unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and <br />conservation of water be fully exercised with a view to the reasonable and beneficial use <br />thereof; and <br />WHEREAS, California Water Code Section 375 authorizes water suppliers to <br />adopt and enforce a comprehensive water conservation program to reduce water <br />consumption and conserve supplies; and <br />WHEREAS, contamination, drought, or failure of the water system infrastructure <br />may lead to a potable water shortage emergency in the City's water supplies; and <br />WHEREAS, California, including Orange County, experienced significant dry year <br />conditions in 2012-2017, which led local water agencies to declare water shortage <br />conditions that triggered drought actions; and <br />WHEREAS, the City has experienced a direct impact on the reliability of available <br />water supplies. The City's reliability was increased through customer curtailment due to <br />demand management measures implemented with the passing of City Ordinance No. NS- <br />2877 in 2015. These actions are specified in the adopted 2020 Urban Water Management <br />Plan and 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan, based on levels of drought severity, <br />and provide the legal authority for implementation and enforcement; and <br />WHEREAS, following the end of the drought, the California Legislature modified <br />the Urban Water Management Planning Act in 2018 to include additional water shortage <br />planning requirements. California Water Code has significant updates, specifically to <br />Water Code Section 10632.1 and Section 10632.5 that now mandate new elements to <br />Urban Water Management and Water Shortage Contingency Plans, including an annual <br />drought risk assessment, State Water Shortage Levels and statewide water use <br />prohibitions; and <br />WHEREAS, as of July 1, 2021, the City is required to prepare an Annual Water <br />Supply and Demand Assessment and Drought Risk Assessment as part of the Urban <br />Water Management Plan for submission to the California Department of Water <br />Resources. Annually, by July 1st of each year, beginning in 2022, the City is required to <br />monitor, report and if declared a drought emergency, then notify the Department of Water <br />Resources, in order to comply with the State's Water Code 10632.1 reporting <br />requirements; and <br />WHEREAS, the City adopted a 2020 Urban Water Management Plan that includes <br />water conservation as a necessary and effective component of providing a reliable supply <br />of water to meet the needs of its water customers. The City's Urban Water Management <br />Plan also includes the City's 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan; and <br />Ordinance No. NS-XXX <br />Page 2 of 18 <br />