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T HE W ARNER P ROJECT
<br />W ATER S UPPLY A SSESSMENT A UGUST 21, 2020
<br />F USCOE E NGINEERING , I NC. 4
<br />1. WSA P URPOSE AND B ACKGROUND
<br />This Water Supply Assessment (WSA) was prepared for VDC as the project sponsor/applicant,
<br />and the City of Santa Ana (“City” or “Santa Ana”) as the lead agency under the California
<br />Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), by Fuscoe Engineering, Inc. (Fuscoe), as the consultant,
<br />regarding the Warner Project (“Warner” or “Project”). This study is a requirement of California
<br />law, specifically Senate Bill 610 (referred to as SB 610). SB 610 is an act that amended Section
<br />21151.9 of the Public Resources Code, and Sections 10631, 10656, 10910, 10911, 10912,
<br />and 10915 of the Water Code. SB 610 repealed Section 10913, and added and repealed
<br />Section 10657 of the Water Code. SB 610 was approved by the Governor and filed with the
<br />Secretary of State on October 9, 2001, and became effective January 1, 2002.
<br />
<br />Under SB 610, WSAs must be furnished to local governments for inclusion in environmental
<br />documentation for certain projects (as defined in Water Code 10912 [a]) subject to CEQA. Due
<br />to increased population, land use changes and water demands, this water bill seeks to improve
<br />the link between information on water availability and certain land use decisions made by cities
<br />and counties. SB 610 takes a significant step toward managing the demand of California’s
<br />water supply as it provides regulations and incentives to preserve and protect future water needs.
<br />The intent of this bill is to coordinate local water supply and land use decisions to help provide
<br />California’s cities, farms, and industrial developments with adequate water supplies.
<br />
<br />With the introduction of SB 610, any project under CEQA shall provide a WSA if the project
<br />meets the definition of the Water Code Section 10912. “Project’’ means any of the following:
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<br />• A proposed residential development of more than 500 dwelling units.
<br />• A proposed shopping center or business establishment employing more than 1,000 persons
<br />or having more than 500,000 square feet of floor space.
<br />• A proposed commercial office building employing more than 1,000 persons or having more
<br />than 250,000 square feet of floor space.
<br />• A proposed hotel or motel, or both, having more than 500 rooms.
<br />• A proposed industrial, manufacturing, or processing plant, or industrial park planned to house
<br />more than 1,000 persons, occupying more than 40 acres of land, or having more than
<br />650,000 square feet of floor area.
<br />• A mixed-use project that includes one or more of the projects specified in this subdivision.
<br />• A project that would demand an amount of water equivalent to, or greater than, the amount
<br />of water required by a 500 dwelling unit project.
<br />• If a public water system has fewer than 5,000 service connections, then ‘‘project’’ means any
<br />proposed residential, business, commercial, hotel or motel, or industrial development that
<br />would account for an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of the public water
<br />system’s existing service connections, or a mixed-use project that would demand an amount
<br />of water equivalent to, or greater than, the amount of water required by residential
<br />development that would represent an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of the
<br />public water system’s existing service connections.
<br />
<br />After review of Water Code Section 10912, the Warner Project is deemed a “Project” because
<br />it proposes a residential development of more than 500 dwelling units.
<br />
<br />In addition, it is also necessary to include the recent passing (September 24, 2016) of Senate
<br />Bill 1262 (Chapter 594) which acts to amend Section 66473.7 of the Government Code, and
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