Drought Update
Governor Brown Appears at Association of California Water
Agencies Event: Following the Administration’s release of the
updated California Water Action Plan, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.
today spoke at the “CA Water 2.0 – What’s Next for the California
Water Action Plan?” event organized by the Association of California
Water Agencies (ACWA), detailing the state's efforts to effectively
manage water now and into the future. “Our climate is rapidly
changing, our population is growing and more extreme weather looms
on the horizon. Now is not the time to shirk from responsibility,” said
Governor Brown. “Storage or conveyance alone will not solve all of our
problems. Recycling, groundwater management and conservation,
individually, won't get us there either. It will take all of the above. We
must think differently and act boldly -- and that's exactly what
California is doing.” More Information
State Water Action Plan Updated to Reflect Two Years of
Progress: The Natural Resources Agency, Department of Food and
Agriculture and the California Environmental Protection Agency today
announced an updated California Water Action Plan that incorporates
two years of significant progress toward sustainable water
management and an implementation report that tracks and details
that progress. The Administration’s water policy goals and priorities
remain unchanged and the California Water Action Plan continues to
focus on sustaining supplies of water for people and the environment
and resolving the state’s most critical water resource problems. The
plan sets forth 10 overarching actions that guide the efforts to create
more resilient, reliable water systems and to restore damaged and
destroyed ecosystems. More Information
“The Water Action Plan lays out an integrated set of strategies
recognizing there is no one answer to our water challenges,” said Food
and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “It serves as a catalyst for
collaboration across government at the state, federal, and local levels
to help us build resiliency and flexibility to manage droughts, floods
and adaptation to climate change.”
“The Governor’s budget, our emergency drought response, our
investment of billions of dollars in bond funds, and the day‐to‐day
work of state agencies – all are guided by the Governor’s Water Action
Plan,” said California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird. “We
are well‐coordinated and making good progress for the sake of all
Californians.”
“The comprehensive actions outlined in the Governor’s plan have
already influenced the way Californians are responding to the current
drought,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection,
Matthew Rodriquez. “The Plan will continue to help us work with the
public to develop near term and long term strategies to secure our
water for future generations.”
Voluntary Agreements in Major Watersheds: Since the Water Action
Plan was released in 2014, the administration through the State Water
Board and the Natural Resources Agency, including its constituent
Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Water Resources, have
continued to analyze the many different regulatory and voluntary
efforts underway in tributaries to the Sacramento and San Joaquin
rivers. In some regions and watersheds, there are existing regulatory
proceedings related to water or federal licensing of privately-owned
hydroelectric dams. In other watersheds, stakeholders have begun to
organize discussions about collaborative voluntary programs. The
Natural Resources Agency will build on this work done to date and
help develop voluntary agreements by the end of 2016 between
stakeholders in the Sacramento Valley, and in the Stanislaus,
Tuolumne, and Merced River watersheds (tributaries that form the
Lower San Joaquin River watershed) that, when implemented, will
improve instream conditions for fisheries. More Information
The Department of Water Resources Announces $232 Million in
Grants to Improve Water Management Across California: The
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced
approximately $232 million in grant funding of 26 proposals for
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) projects that will
leverage hundreds of millions of additional local and federal dollars.
The award of funds from a 2006 water bond passed by voters
statewide will support projects and programs to meet California’s
long-term water management needs, including delivery of safe
drinking water, enhancement of recycled water use, water
conservation, flood risk reduction, watershed protection, ecosystem
restoration, protection of water quality and management of
groundwater. More Information
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Awards $31.4 Million to
Fund Ecosystem and Watershed Restoration Projects: The California
Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced the selection of
24 projects that will receive funding from its Water Quality, Supply
and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1)
Restoration Grant Programs: The grants, which total $31.4 million, are
CDFW’s first distribution of funds through these programs. They
include approximately $24.6 million awarded through the Watershed
Restoration Grant Program to projects of statewide importance
outside of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and approximately $6.8
million awarded through the Delta Water Quality and Ecosystem
Restoration Grant Program for projects that benefit the SacramentoSan Joaquin Delta specifically. More Information
New Laws Bring Changes to Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act; Department of Water Resources Continues Outreach: New
amendments to the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA) modify and clarify some of the rules that local agencies
will need to address when forming a groundwater sustainability
agency (GSA). The SGMA amendments also change the Department of
Water Resources’ (DWR) role in reviewing, posting, and tracking GSA
formation notices. DWR is continuing its technical, financial and
facilitation assistance to local agencies as they adapt to the
changes. More Information
January 20: California Water Commission Meeting: This meeting will
include approval of the Commission’s 2015 State Water Project
Review, a briefing on grant and loan programs benefiting small water
systems and disadvantaged communities, an update on development
of Groundwater Sustainability Plan regulations, and an update on
Water Storage Investment Program. Agenda
Governor Proposes $955 Million for Continued Drought Response and
Water Action Plan Implementation: Since the Governor first declared a
state of drought emergency in January 2014, the Administration has
worked with the Legislature to appropriate $3.7 billion to assist
drought-impacted communities, provide additional resources for
critical water infrastructure projects and respond to drought-related
wildlife emergencies. The state has also committed an additional
$292 million General Fund in the current year for emergency response
activities associated with catastrophic wildfires. The Governor’s
proposed FY 16/17 Budget provides an additional $323.1 million
($212.1 million General Fund) on a one-time basis to continue
immediate response to the drought. Many of the emergency drought
response actions executed to date further the 10 actions of the
California Water Action Plan. The state’s emergency drought response
is strategically guided by accelerating several of the key actions in the
California Water Action Plan that will provide long‑ term benefits for
the state. The 2015/2016 State Budget committed $4.8 billion from
Proposition 1 to Water Action Plan related activities and the
Governor’s proposed FY 16/17 State Budget includes and additional
$635 million in combined funding to further implementation of the CA
Water Action Plan. Governor’s Proposed Budget Water Action
Implementation Report