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

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Santa Ana 2020 Urban Water Management Plan arcadis.com 6-10 Delta water supply operations through requirements for Delta inflow and outflow and export pumping restrictions. Restrictions on SWP operations imposed by state and federal agencies contribute substantially to the challenge of accurately determining the SWP’s water delivery reliability in any given year (DWR, 2020b). Ongoing environmental and policy planning efforts: Governor Gavin Newsom ended California WaterFix in May 2019 and announced a new approach to modernize Delta Conveyance through a single tunnel alternative. The EcoRestore Program aims to restore at least 30,000 acres of Delta habitat, with the near-term goal of making significant strides toward that objective by 2020 (DWR, 2020b). Delta levee failure: The levees are vulnerable to failure because most original levees were simply built with soils dredged from nearby channels and were not engineered. A breach of one or more levees and island flooding could affect Delta water quality and SWP operations for several months. When islands are flooded, DWR may need to drastically decrease or even cease SWP Delta exports to evaluate damage caused by salinity in the Delta. Operational constraints likely will continue until a long-term solution to the problems in the Bay-Delta is identified and implemented. New Biops for listed species under the Federal ESA or by the California Department of Fish and Game’s issuance of incidental take authorizations under the Federal ESA and California ESA might further adversely affect SWP and CVP operations. Additionally, new litigation, listings of additional species or new regulatory requirements could further adversely affect SWP operations in the future by requiring additional export reductions, releases of additional water from storage or other operational changes impacting water supply operations. Future Programs / Plans MET’s Board approved a Delta Action Plan in June 2007 that provides a framework for staff to pursue actions with other agencies and stakeholders to build a sustainable Delta and reduce conflicts between water supply conveyance and the environment. The Delta Action Plan aims to prioritize immediate short-term actions to stabilize the Delta while an ultimate solution is selected, and mid-term steps to maintain the Delta while a long-term solution is implemented. Currently, MET is working towards addressing four elements: Delta ecosystem restoration, water supply conveyance, flood control, protection and storage development. In May 2019, Governor Newsom ended California WaterFix, announced a new approach to modernize Delta Conveyance through a single tunnel alternative, and released Executive Order 10-19 that directed state agencies to inventory and assess new planning for the project. DWR then withdrew all project approvals and permit applications for California WaterFix, effectively ending the project. The purpose of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) gives rise to several project objectives (MET, 2021). In proposing to make physical improvements to the SWP Delta conveyance system, the project objectives are:  To address anticipated rising sea levels and other reasonably foreseeable consequences of climate change and extreme weather events.  To minimize the potential for public health and safety impacts from reduced quantity and quality of SWP water deliveries, and potentially CVP water deliveries, south of the Delta resulting from a major earthquake that causes breaching of Delta levees and the inundation of brackish water into the areas in which existing pumping plants operate.