75E - PH - WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN

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2015 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN we 5.1 Overview In connection with recent water supply challenges, the State Water Resources Control Board found that California has been subject to multi -year droughts in the past, and the Southwest is becoming drier, increasing the probability of prolonged droughts in the future. Due to current and potential future water supply shortages, Governor Brown issued a drought emergency proclamation on January 2014 and signed the 2014 Executive Order that directs urban water suppliers to implement drought response plans to limit outdoor irrigation and wasteful water practices if they are not already in place. Pursuant to California Water Code Section 106, it is the declared policy of the state that domestic water use is the highest use of water and the next highest use is irrigation. This section describes the water supply shortage policies Metropolitan and the City have in place to respond to events including catastrophic interruption and reduction in water supply. 5. 2 Shart ge Actions 5.2.1 Metropolitan Water Surplus and Drought Management Plan Metropolitan evaluates the level of supplies available and existing levels of water in storage to determine the appropriate management stage annually. Each stage is associated with specific resource management actions to avoid extreme shortages to the extent possible and minimize adverse impacts to retail customers should an extreme shortage occur. The sequencing outlined in the Water Surplus and Drought Management (WSDM) Plan reflects anticipated responses towards Metropolitan's existing and expected resource mix. Surplus stages occur when net annual deliveries can be made to water storage programs. Under the WSDM Plan, there are four surplus management stages that provides a framework for actions to take for surplus supplies. Deliveries in DVL and in SWP terminal reservoirs continue through each surplus stage provided there is available storage capacity. Withdrawals from DVL for regulatory purposes or to meet seasonal demands may occur in any stage. The WSDM Plan distinguishes between shortages, severe shortages, and extreme shortages. The differences between each term is listed below. Shortage: Metropolitan can meet full- service demands and partially meet or fully meet interruptible demands using stored water or water transfers as necessary. • Severe Shortage: Metropolitan can meet full- service demands only by using stored water, transfers, and possibly calling for extraordinary conservation. • Extreme Shortage: Metropolitan must allocate available supply to full- service customers. There are six shortage management stages to guide resource management activities. These stages are defined by shortfalls in imported supply and water balances in Metropolitan's storage programs. When Metropolitan must make net withdrawals from storage to meet demands, it is considered to be in a shortage condition. Figure 5 -1 gives a summary of actions under each surplus and shortage stages when arcadis.com 75E-62 5 -1