DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Urban Water Institute Annual Water Conference August 15, 2014 Urban Water Institute Annual Water Conference August 15, 2014 Gary Bardini Deputy Director Department of Water Resources DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE

California’s Drought 2014 third dry year statewide Statewide storage well below average Groundwater basins are being depleted Feb and Mar rain helped, but drought conditions persist State and federal water projects restricted by regulatory actions to protect the Delta Local conditions are degrading High level of local, State and federal coordination 2015 could also be dry More frequent or longer droughts are likely

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Statewide Drought Conditions Extreme Drought 82% Exceptional Drought 58% United States Drought Monitor August 5, 2014

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE

Three Year Snowpack & Run Off April 1 SnowpackYearly Runoff %62% %60% %36% Sierra Snowpack = 1/3 of the State’s total water supply

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Current Reservoir Conditions % Avg% Cap Shasta 3348 Oroville 3448 Folsom 4059 San Luis 2043 Folsom Lake – Jan 2014 Oroville – Jan 2014 Aug 11, 2014

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE

Drought Impacts: Groundwater Spring 2010 – Spring 2014 Red - decrease of more than 10 ft Orange - decrease of between 2.5 to 10 ft San Joaquin Valley Critical Impact Contributes to Subsidence Increased Well Drilling Deeper and Larger Wells Small Communities / Homes

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Governor’s Drought Proclamation Conservation – 20% Water Contingency Plans State Agencies Water Transfers Consolidate Place of Use Shovel Ready Projects Notice on Diversions WQCP – Cold Water, WQ Drinking Water Assistance Groundwater Report Well Drilling / Local Impacts CDFA Website DFW – Contingency Plans, Fish Delta Actions Climate Forecasting CalFire – Staff and Action Task Force – Food, Money, Services Task Force - Monitor

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Drought Impacts: State Actions Executive Order B-21-13: Streamline water transfers (May 2013) California Water Plan Update (draft Oct 2013) Interagency Drought Task Force (Dec 2013) Governor’s Drought Proclamation and Water Action Plan (Jan 2014) Urgency Legislation providing $687.4 million to support drought relief (Feb 2014) Governor’s Executive Order (Apr 2014) Drought Operations Plan (Apr 2014)

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Improved Conditions in Spring Some Increased Supply Scaled Back Requests for Modified Delta Standards Limited Operational Flexibility Water Transfers Emergency Drought Barrier Installation on Hold

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE California Water Action Plan: Actions for Reliability, Restoration and Resilience Conservation as a way of life Regional self-reliance and IWM Achieve co-equal goals for the Delta Protect and restore ecosystems Manage and prepare for dry periods Expand storage and GW management Safe water for all communities Operational and regulatory efficiency Sustainable and integrated financing

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Proposed Public Investments:

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Possible Drought Actions for 2015 Reduced Project Deliveries Modified Delta Flow/Salinity Standards State Water Board Curtailments Drought Barrier Installation (one or more) Mandatory Conservation Increased Ground Water Use Increased Oversight on Ground Water Use Increased Mutual Aid Increased Real-time Data and Information

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE El Nino for Winter 2014/15? 65 percent probability forming in the fall/winter. No strong correlation and above-normal precipitation for interior Northern California

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Thank You The governor asked all Californians to reduce water consumption by 20 percent and referred residents and water agencies to the Save Our Water campaign --

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water” – Benjamin Franklin

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Drought Impacts: Greatest Risks Health & safety and economic – Catastrophic wildfires (e.g., Southern California in 2003 and 2007) Health & safety – Impacts to small water systems in rural areas (including wildfire damage) Environmental – Continued San Joaquin Valley land subsidence, spawning beds Economic – Minimal water allocations to some agricultural water users, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE State Water Project Allocations SWP 5% April 2014 In January, first time in the 54-year history of the SWP that an allocation of zero was announced. SWP provides at least some of the water used by 25 million Californians. SWP water irrigates about 750,000 acres of farmland.

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE

Drought Impacts: 18 Counties in a State of Emergency due to Drought Glenn Inyo Kern Kings Lake Madera Mendocino Merced Modoc San Joaquin San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Siskiyou Sonoma Sutter Tulare Tuolumne Yuba

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Drought Impacts: Tribal Governments in State of Emergency due to Drought Hoopa Valley Tribe (Humboldt) Yurok Tribe (Del Norte) Tule River Tribe (Tulare) Karuk Tribe (Siskiyou/Humboldt) Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo (Mendocino) Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (Yolo)

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Local Drought Task Forces Currently, 31 local task forces at the county level Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) has a Drought Action Group that includes many local agency representatives from throughout the state

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Governor’s Interagency Drought Task Force Meets weekly Established via Governor Brown’s December 17 th letter to agencies One week reporting period Multiple state agencies involved in addition to above including: Department of Public Health Employment Development Department Department of General Services

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Voluntary Water Transfers DWR streamlining process – Improving contracting procedures for voluntary transfers dependent on SWP facilities – Requires a willing buyer and willing seller – Facilitating fast-tracking of transfers with appropriate supporting documentation – Improving coordination and alignment with other agencies SWRCB USBR – Updated Web information: –

DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Emergency Drought Barriers Temporary Rock Barriers Permits Required Agency Consultations Limit Saltwater Intrusion Sutter Slough Steamboat Slough West False River