There have been numerous conversations within the community about water resource planning and the Utilities Division has been doing significant work on planning for the past several years.  Staff wants to provide City Council an update on water resources planning for your comment, discussion and guidance.  A portion of this presentation was provided to the Water Commission on February 16, 2017.

The Utilities Division plans for and provides water supplies and infrastructure to meet the needs of the community on various time scales ranging from near-term to build-out. The city has made significant progress in water resource planning, most notably, in adopting the state's voluntary water adequacy management criteria as a sound water management strategy, which links new development to water supply availability/planning, and in developing a Utilities Integrated Master Plan (UIMP). The UIMP was the first organized effort by staff to ferret unmet water supply needs of the community with various water supply options, while considering the volume of water various options contribute towards the projected water supply deficit, and the cost to save (as through conservation), recycle (as with expanded reuse), or obtain (as with Red Gap Ranch) resources. The high-level cost-benefit analysis in the Water Resources Chapter of the UIMP, in 2011, was the first study to analyze and compare various supplies and their cost comparison.

Water resources' planning goals and elements of this presentation were provided to the Water Commission on February 16, 2017 for comment, discussion, and recommendations. The goals of the Water Resources Section are to 1) further the work completed in the 2011 Water Resources chapter of the UIMP, 2) incorporate objectives of a "One Water" approach, and 3) to develop a public involvement plan. This coordinated water resource planning effort will result in a strategic plan with options for City Council and the community to consider by 2020.

Master planning is an iterative process and the Council-adopted Water Policies calls for the Water Resources chapter to be updated every five years such that subsequent UIMP chapters are continually based on refreshed information. The 2011 chapter pointed at numerous water supply options evaluated at a high-level cost benefit comparing the volume of water to the cost per acre-foot, over a 10-year period. Staff will expand to meet the goals presented above, to include the following:

Updating the Water Resources chapter with:

• updating options for a sustainable water budget that considers new regulations or city or community values and objectives
• a revised water demand analysis based on the voter-approved Regional Plan 2020 land uses
• growth and water supply tracking as per the city's Designation of Adequate Water Supply
• groundwater modeling supply sustainability scenarios, considering climate change and environmental impacts
• watershed and water supply monitoring and management
• updated supply cost-benefit alternatives that compare water management options economically (capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, avoided costs, life-cycle costs) and financially (the mechanisms to fund projects), expanding to include new alternatives that coordinate with proposed state law regulations around direct and indirect potable reuse

Incorporating objectives of a "One Water" approach that:

• integrate management of resources and city-wide policies
• balance environmental, economic, and societal goals
• improve health of local watersheds
• improve water supply reliability
• implement, monitor and maintain a reliable wastewater system
• increase climate resilience
• increase community awareness and advocacy for sustainable water

Developing a public involvement plan that would:

• continue to share results and seek input from the Water Commission
• encourage the public to attend presentations given to the Water Commission
• utilize the Community Water Forum as a public outreach opportunity to share elements of water resource planning through community discussions
• request review of the updated Water Resources Master Plan from stakeholder groups