Item 28 - Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan

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Santa Ana 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan 2-3 2.2 Relationship to Wholesalers MET: MET is the largest water wholesaler for domestic and municipal uses in California, serving approximately 19 million customers. MET wholesales imported water supplies to 26 member cities and water districts in six Southern California counties. Its service area covers the Southern California coastal plain, extending approximately 200 miles along the Pacific Ocean from the City of Oxnard in the north to the international boundary with Mexico in the south. This encompasses 5,200 square miles and includes portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. Approximately 85% of the population from the aforementioned counties reside within MET's boundaries. MET is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of 38 appointed individuals with a minimum of one representative from each of MET’s 26 member agencies. The allocation of directors and voting rights are determined by each agency’s assessed valuation. Each member of the Board shall be entitled to cast one vote for each ten million dollars ($10,000,000) of assessed valuation of property taxable for district purposes, in accordance with Section 55 of the Metropolitan Water District Act (Metropolitan Act). Directors can be appointed through the chief executive officer of the member agency or by a majority vote of the governing board of the agency. Directors are not compensated by MET for their service. MET is responsible for importing water into the region through its operation of the Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA) and its contract with the State of California for SWP supplies. Member agencies receive water from MET through various delivery points and pay for service through a rate structure made up of volumetric rates, capacity charges and readiness to serve charges. Member agencies provide estimates of imported water demand to MET annually in April regarding the amount of water they anticipate they will need to meet their demands for the next five years. The City is one of MET’s member agencies that purchases water directly from MET. The City’s location within Orange County is shown on Figure 2-2.