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2017 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM <br />Water Conservation and Water Supply <br />Reliability <br />(Public Works Agency) <br />The Drought has dominated much of the water <br />headlines from 2013 to 2015. However, in <br />2016, for the first time in three years, water <br />supplies available to the City's major water <br />suppliers exceeded demands. This change <br />caused a shift in operational priorities from <br />drought management and storage usage to <br />drought recovery. Conservation efforts during <br />the drought were successful in suppressing <br />water demand. The City exceeded the <br />Governor's mandate to conserve all throughout <br />the Emergency Drought Declaration. With the <br />increase in available supplies in early 2016 <br />water supply allocation was lifted, however, the <br />City continued with its water conservation <br />efforts and outreach. On February 1, 2017 the <br />State Water Project watershed hydrology had <br />improved to 197 percent of average to date. <br />Many of the state's reservoirs are full or above <br />their historic averages. Castaic Lake for example <br />is 92% of its capacity. Under these wet <br />conditions, with average rain of 27.81 inches <br />statewide from October 1, 2016 to February 28, <br />2017 the Department of Water Resources <br />announced a 60 percent State Water Project <br />(SWP) allocation. With the understanding that <br />droughts are cyclical, the City supports state and <br />regional water supply projects and initiatives to <br />drought proof the Southern California water <br />supplies. The City supports the following <br />projects /initiatives: <br />Bay -Delta and State Water Project <br />Improvements: <br />Support administrative /legislative action <br />and federal and state funding to keep <br />the Bay Delta Conservation <br />Plan /California WaterFix to advance <br />conveyance and ecosystem <br />CITY OF SANTA ANA <br />8 <br />65B -14 <br />improvements to help achieve coequal <br />goals of water supply reliability and Delta <br />ecosystem protection and restoration. <br />Regional Water Resources <br />Management: <br />Support administrative /legislative action <br />to promote the development of a <br />Regional Recycled Water Program for <br />indirect potable reuse of recycled water <br />as new drought proof water resource. <br />Ground Water Replenishment System <br />Final Expansion: <br />Support the GWRS -Final Expansion <br />project to augment the existing system <br />to replenish the Orange County <br />Groundwater Basin from 100 to 130 <br />Million Gallons per Day. <br />Ocean Water Desalination: <br />Support administrative /legislative action <br />to promote the development of fiscally <br />responsible ocean water desalination <br />projects as a water resource, without <br />compromising the operational, financial, <br />water quality, regulatory and customer's <br />interests of the City and other water <br />agencies. <br />Efficient Water Use: <br />Provide incentives, funding, and other <br />assistance where needed to facilitate <br />water market transformation and gain <br />wider implementation of water - efficient <br />indoor and outdoor technologies and <br />practices. <br />Water Quality: <br />Funding that helps Cities meet state and <br />federal water quality standards. <br />Water Infrastructure Financing: <br />Reduce the cost of financing water <br />