BACKGROUND
New challenges in water supply reliability, quality and affordability are driving California water policy and funding priorities toward increased integrated regional water resource planning.
In 2002, the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Planning Act (SB 1672) was chaptered into law, establishing the basis by which the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) would administer the State’s IRWM Program. Propositions 50 and 84 were approved by the voters in 2002 and 2006 respectively, authorizing a total of $1.5 billion of State grant funds statewide for IRWM Planning and Programs. Additionally, Proposition 1E was approved by the voters in 2006, authorizing an additional $300 million in grant funding for stormwater flood management projects that are identified in IRWM Plans.
The development of an IRWM Plan is required for regional eligibility for IRWM State grant funds.
The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) is a Joint Powers Authority, focusing on water supply and water quality. As a regional watershed planning group, SAWPA has been facilitating efforts to develop a watershed planning framework to guide water resource management throughout the Santa Ana River Watershed for the immediate future through the year 2035. To date, this has resulted in the development of the Santa Ana Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, also known by stakeholders in the Watershed as the One Water One Watershed Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plan (Plan).
Regular workshops throughout the watershed were held with more than 100 agencies and non-profit organizations spanning Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange counties. From the very beginning, the process has been open to and has received the participation of representatives from all geographic regions and political jurisdictions within the watershed, and from diverse representatives of different sectors of the community.
SAWPA began efforts in 2011 to update and refine the Plan with the mission to create opportunities for collaboration to find sustainable watershed-wide solutions among diverse stakeholders from throughout the Watershed. The Plan will also provide a blueprint for water resources management in the Watershed over the course of several decades.
The 2014 update to the Plan built upon previous planning processes and collaborative efforts to ensure a sustainable water supply through the more efficient use of water, the protection and improvement of water quality; and the promotion of environmental stewardship. The updated Plan places more emphasis on the watershed multi-benefit and multi-purpose solutions. The success of this Plan relies on the continued participation of stakeholders in the OWOW Program throughout the 25-year planning horizon. The complete plan can be viewed at the following website address:
http://www.sawpa.org/owow-2-0-plan-2/.
The Plan represents a significant and innovative collaborative planning effort in addressing water resources in the Santa Ana River Watershed. The plan focuses on developing multi-agency, multi-disciplinary water management strategies. These strategies will serve to guide future planning and management in the watershed.
The Emergency Drought Grant Program, which is a water demand reduction effort, was developed through the OWOW plan implementation process. The program provides $22 million in grant funding towards projects involving aerial mapping, conservation based rate structures, conservation using technology, and water efficient landscaping.