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

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Santa Ana 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan 3-1 3 WATER SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PLANNING The City’s WSCP is a detailed guide of how the City intends to act in the case of an actual water shortage condition. The WSCP anticipates a water supply shortage and provides pre-planned guidance for managing and mitigating a shortage. Regardless of the reason for the shortage, the WSCP is based on adequate details of demand reduction and supply augmentation measures that are structured to match varying degrees of shortage will ensure the relevant stakeholders understand what to expect during a water shortage situation. 3.1 Water Supply Reliability Analysis Per Water Code Section 10632 (a)(1), the WSCP shall provide an analysis of water supply reliability conducted pursuant to Water Code Section 10635, and the key issues that may create a shortage condition when looking at the City’s water asset portfolio. Understanding water supply reliability, factors that could contribute to water supply constraints, availability of alternative supplies, and what effect these have on meeting customer demands provides the City with a solid basis on which to develop appropriate and feasible response actions in the event of a water shortage. In the 2020 UWMP, the City conducted a Water Reliability Assessment to compare the total water supply sources available to the water supplier with long-term projected water use over the next 20 years, in five-year increments, for a normal water year, a single dry water year, and a drought lasting five consecutive water years (Santa Ana, 2021a). The City also conducted a DRA to evaluate a drought period that lasts five consecutive water years starting from the year following when the assessment is conducted. An analysis of both assessments determined that the City is capable of meeting all customers’ demands from 2021 through 2045 for a normal year, a single dry year, and a drought lasting five consecutive years with significant imported water supplemental drought supplies from MET and ongoing conservation program efforts. The City receives the majority of its water supply from groundwater from the OC Basin, as well as supplemental supplies from local recycled water from the OCWD GAP that adds reliability for non-potable water demand. As a result, there is no projected shortage condition due to drought that will trigger customer demand reduction actions until MET notifies the City of insufficient imported supplies. More information is available in the City’s 2020 UWMP Sections 6 and 7 (Santa Ana, 2021a). 3.2 Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Procedures Per Water Code Section 10632.1, the City will conduct an Annual Assessment pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10632 and by July 1st of each year, beginning in 2022, submit an Annual Assessment with information for anticipated shortage, triggered shortage response actions, compliance and enforcement actions, and communication actions consistent with the Supplier’s WSCP. The City must include in its WSCP the procedures used for conducting an Annual Assessment. The Annual Assessment is a determination of the near-term outlook for supplies and demands and how a perceived shortage may relate to WSCP shortage stage response actions in the current calendar year. This determination is based on information available to the City at the time of the analysis. Starting in 2022, the Annual Assessment will be due by July 1 of every year.