Affirm continuing drought emergency and receive and file monthly drought update. (No general fund impact) (Pinedo/Weivoda)

On July 27, 2021, the Board adopted Resolution No. 21-98 proclaiming the existence of a local drought emergency. Drought conditions have persisted since that time and the drought emergency continues despite recent storms. On October 19, 2021, Governor Newsom issued a proclamation extending the drought emergency statewide and further urging Californians to step up water conservation efforts as the western U.S. faces a potential third dry year.  The Board received its most recent drought update at the September 27, 2022, meeting. The Board will receive the next drought update from staff at the November 22, 2022, regularly scheduled Board meeting. 

In close coordination with the Yolo Groundwater Sustainability Agency and the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (YCFCWCD), Yolo OES provides both a dry well reporting program and an emergency household water program.  The dry well reporting program provides confidential ways of notifying the County of wells that have stopped producing water. Reports are taken via phone or an online application.  Once a report is received, Yolo OES staff contact the reporting party, gather information, and schedule an inspection of the well by YCFCWCD technicians.  The inspection is free of charge and ascertains if the well is dry or suffering from a mechanical problem.  If a well is confirmed to be dry, the residents are provided information from Yolo OES staff on all available local, state, and federal resources, including low-interest loans. The residents are also eligible to be enrolled in the County's "Dry Well Assistance" program which provides an above ground storage tank (AGST) at the residence for domestic water use such as cooking, bathing, and toilet flushing.  Drinking water is provided via bottled water on a monthly basis, and the AGST is filled via water truck delivery as needed.  This program is funded by a State Department of Water Resources grant totaling $559,500. To date, Yolo OES has spent just over $54,000 responding to dry wells in the County. 

For the bottled water deliveries for the month of September OES staff are anticipating the delivery of over 180 cases.  Bottled water delivery will be changing to a pick-up based distribution system due to the increase in reports. The month of August 2022 was the highest dry well reporting month that Yolo OES has experienced in this drought so far.

In May 2022 Yolo County was notified that the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) denied access to the California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) as part of the Governor’s Drought emergency proclamation.  At this time, CalOES does not feel that there are sufficient damages within Yolo County for the County’s eligibility.  Yolo County will continue to provide affected numbers to the State should that assessment change.

On March 28, 2022, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-7-22. The Executive Order (EO) is provided as Attachment A to this staff report. Of particular interest to Yolo County is a provision that requires additional review and analysis of applications for groundwater well permits in medium and high priority groundwater basins. Yolo Subbasin (almost contiguous with County boundaries) is considered a high priority basin (as defined by the California Department of Water Resources). This additional review is required for agricultural well permits only.

Yolo County Environmental Health (YCEH) is still working to develop procedures to review new agricultural well permits to determine compliance with section 9b of Executive Order N-7-22, which requires the County to make a determination that the proposed well is:

Counties across the state are taking different approaches to comply with Section 9b of the EO depending on the status of their respective groundwater basins. Most are requiring a report from a California licensed Professional Geologist with a Certified Hydrogeologist (“Licensed Professional”) specialty certification.  YCEH is working with a hydrogeologist from Luhdorff & Scalmanini, Consulting Engineers (LSCE), to develop a method to make the determinations required by Section 9b and does not anticipate having to require such an expert report in all cases.  Staff anticipate finalizing those procedures within the next few weeks.  While this process is being developed, an alternative option for property owners is to submit a report by a Licensed Professional attesting that the proposed well meets the requirements under Section 9b.
 
Since the issuance of the EO, staff from YCEH, County Counsel's Office, Natural Resources, and Yolo OES along with staff from the YSGA have been analyzing the EO requirements and collaborating on implementation processes.  For instance, when a new agricultural well is being drilled to replace an existing failing well, YCEH has worked with YSGA to develop an expedited review process that addresses all the requirements of the EO. The YSGA adopted Resolution No. 22-01 to formalize the YSGA’s process of completing the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) consistency review for compliance with section 9a’s written verification requirements.
 
Assembly Bill 2201 (AB 2201), which would have codified the Governor’s EO and added additional steps in the administrative process of well permitting, failed to advance.

The YSGA recently compiled fall measurements from wells throughout the Subbasin. As seen below, the average depth to water was at approximately 62 feet. This means that groundwater is located approximately an average of 62 feet below the ground's surface.  The YSGA was projecting fall groundwater levels to be between 61-73 feet, and the data is illustrating levels are in the range.  Water levels in the majority of monitoring wells have reached the seasonal low and are beginning to recover. As of October 17, 2022, groundwater elevations are approximately 4 feet lower than last year at this time, and approximately 4 feet lower than 2015 at this time.
 
The YSGA is relying on the groundwater elevations in the representative monitoring wells to assist in the written verification process for determining whether new agricultural wells are consistent with the adopted Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Section 9a of the Governor’s EO).

In addition to the well permitting requirement, EO N-7-22 directed the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to consider adopting emergency regulations that included a requirement for urban water suppliers to implement water shortage response actions for a shortage level of up to twenty percent (Level 2) per their respective water shortage contingency plans.  On May 24, 2022, the SWRCB adopted emergency regulations (Resolution No. 2022-0018) requiring urban water suppliers to implement Level 2 of their water shortage contingency plans to increase water conservation and prohibited the use of potable water to irrigate non-functional turf at commercial, industrial, and institutional sites, but excluding watering to protect the health of trees and other perennial non-turf plantings to the extent necessary to address an immediate health and safety need.  The City of Davis has implemented its Level 2 water restrictions, which limits outdoor irrigation to three days per week, and the County adopted a water conservation program on September 14, 2021 (Ordinance No. 1540), modeled after the City of Davis’s water shortage contingency plan for the County Service Areas that provide water service. On July 26, 2022, level 2 drought restrictions were implemented in El Macero and Willowbank CSAs.  The North Davis Meadows CSA voluntarily restricted irrigation watering to three days a week.  The County also implemented drought Level 3 for the Wild Wings CSA due to its water supply conditions, which includes limiting outdoor irrigation to two days per week.  As of September 2022, Wild Wings CSA has conserved approximately 29% percent compared to September 2020. 

In addition to the requirements for urban water suppliers, the SWRCB’s emergency regulations imposed conservation requirements Statewide for all Californians.  The restrictions include prohibitions on the following until January 2023:

Watering non-functional turf/lawns in commercial, industrial, and institutional areas, including common areas of homeowners’ associations (HOAs) is also prohibited until June 2023. Non-functional turf is defined as a ground cover surface of mowed grass that is ornamental and not otherwise used for human recreation purposes. Non-functional turf does not include school fields, sports fields, and areas regularly used for civic or community events.

Staff have, and will continue to, collaborate with the YCFCWCD, the YSGA, the Water Resources Association of Yolo County, all in-county water purveyors, the general public, and state and federal agencies.