Integrated Regional Water Management Planning Grant

August 2011 IRWMP Grant Update

Dear Pajaro River Watershed Stakeholders,

 

The Pajaro Regional Water Management Group is getting ready to update the Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Plan.  The original plan, which was adopted in 2007, includes projects and programs that could meet the region’s needs for water supply reliability, water quality, flood protection, and environmental protection.  Since the plan was adopted, a number of projects have been completed, new projects have been identified, and the need for some projects has changed.  In addition, in order for projects in the IRWM Plan to be eligible for funding, the plan needs to be updated to meet new State requirements.

 

In February 2011, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) approved a $1 million grant to the region for updating the IRWM Plan and completing several special studies related to water supply, water quality, flood protection, and habitat protection.  The special studies include:

 

• The College Lake Management Study to enhance water supply, flood protection, and steelhead habitat (sponsored by the County of Santa Cruz);
• Salt and nutrient management planning to protect water quality while expanding the use of recycled water (sponsored by Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, San Benito County Water District, and Santa Clara Valley Water District); and
• A watershed study to assess and model sediment transport in the Pajaro and San Benito Rivers (sponsored by the Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority).

 

The Regional Water Management Group is currently working with DWR on the grant funding agreement and anticipates initiating the IRWM update work in October 2011.  Initial update work will include reviewing the governance structure and goals and objectives.  Other work will include updating the project list and project prioritization process.  The Regional Water Management Group is looking forward to working with stakeholders to make sure the water resources management needs of the Pajaro River Watershed are captured in the updated IRWM Plan.

The Regional Water Management Group is also continuing to track grant funding opportunities.  Approximately $30 million is available for the Central Coast through DWR’s IRWM program.  The Pajaro River Watershed is one of six regions that are eligible for the funding.  The hope is that all the regions in the Central Coast will agree on an equitable funding allocation.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

 

Sincerely,

 

Tracy Hemmeter
Santa Clara Valley Water District
408-265-2607, ext. 2647

 

 

 

Origin and Purpose of an IRWMP Grant

In January 2006, the Agency and two neighboring water districts were awarded a $500,000 planning grant to study potential solutions to regional water issues impacting the counties within the Pajaro River Watershed.

 

The Integrated Regional Water Management Planning grant application was made jointly with the San Benito County Water District and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.  The monies are available through the Proposition 50 water bond approved by California voters in 2002, which is being administered by the State Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board.  

 

IRWM Plans integrate the planning efforts for water supply, flood protection, wastewater treatment, watershed planning, environmental protection and water quality into a single document for a region. Public agencies, cities, counties, nonprofit organizations, and private water companies integrate their planning efforts into a single plan that maximizes efficiencies and takes advantage of the synergies that are available when these entities work together with common goals. IRWM planning provides several benefits to local agencies and governments including:

 

• Fostering regional partnerships,
• Maximizing local resources,
• Diversifying regional water options,
• Providing planning and implementation funding opportunities,
• Providing the opportunity to achieve regional projects and benefits, and
• Optimizing the management of water and environmental resources.
• When major water players all identify common objectives, it provides focus and momentum for regional water projects that otherwise would seen too complex or expensive for any single agency to pursue.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About the IRWMP

The IRWMP process is new and somewhat complicated. The Agency has developed a list of questions and answers to address the most common questions received to date.

 

 

IRWM Planning Process

The development of the Draft IRWMP during 2006 and early 2007 was generally a four-step process. A public stakeholder meeting was held for each of the four steps.

 

• Step 1: Develop Regional Goals & Objectives-- The most important regional water related issues within the region were identified and listed and compared against the specific objectives found in the state DWR Guidelines which lists the strategies that are required to be considered for IRWM Planning.  For example, recycling of wastewater must be considered. The combination of the regional needs and the state's guidelines resulted in four regional Goals and twenty-two Objectives.
• Step 2: Identify Projects-- A wide ranging list of projects were suggested by the stakeholders and the water agencies. All projects (nearly 100) on the list were placed into a matrix and then compared to the Goals and Objectives. The comparisons were then converted into a numerical score and then listed from the highest to lowest. The scope and timelines projects range widely: some are only general ideas still in the conceptual stages to specific projects that may already be under construction.
• Step 3: Prioritize Projects-- Projects were then grouped into high, medium and low priority based on their score.
• Step 4: Organize Projects into Programs-- The resulting list of high priority projects were organized into four programs, and then medium and low priority projects as well as any associated environmental projects were added if they fit into the purpose of the programs.

 

Current Timeline and Milestones for the IRWMP Planning Process

Final adoption by each of the three agency boards is scheduled for May 2007. On May 16, at 7:00 in the Watsonville City Council Chambers, the PVWMA Board of Directors will hold a public hearing to consider adopting an updated, Final Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP).  The first version of the IRWMP was adopted in November 2006 to comply with grant filing deadlines.  To download a press release for the public meeting notice click here.

 

 

 

Final IRWMP Documents (PDF files)

Hard copies of the files below are also available for review at each of the three participating water agencies including the PVWMA. CD-ROMs are available upon request.

 

Table of Contents and List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Section 1- Regional Water Management Groups

Section 2- Regional Description (2.1 MB)

Section 3- Goal and Objectives

Section 4- Water Management Strategies (project descriptions) (0.4 MB)

Section 5- Integration Process

Section 6- Regional Prioritization Process

Section 7- Implementation Process

Section 8- Impacts and Benefits

Section 9- Technical Analysis and Performance (0.4 MB)

Section 10- Data Management

Section 11- Financing (0.6 MB)

Section 12- Statewide Priorities

Section 13- Relation to Local Planning

Section 14- Stakeholder Involvement

Section 15- Agency Coordination

Appendicies (3.9 MB)

 

Information regarding the previous workshops and the draft IRWMP is also available online at www.rmcwater.com/clients/prirwmp.html.

 

For further information about the IRWMP, contact:

Jeff Cattaneo (SBCWD), jcattaneo@sbcwd.com

Carol Presley (SCVWD, Environmental), cpresley@valleywater.org, 408-265-2600

Tracy Hemmeter (SCVWD, Water Supply), themmeter@valleywater.org, 408-265-2600

Mary Bannister (PVWMA), bannister@pvwma.dst.ca.us, 831-722-9292

 

 

Connection of IRWMP and Importation Pipeline

The collaborative IRWMP approach is allowing the three water agencies, together with all the other stakeholders, to study common "win-win" goals as well as their own specific needs.  Per the Agency’s Revised Basin Management Plan, imported water is needed to balance the basin and halt seawater intrusion. However identifying an affordable import project remains a big challenge for the Pajaro Valley. The good news is that Santa Clara and San Benito counties already import Central Valley Project water from San Luis Reservoir and the Agency already has some rights to imported water. Therefore, participation in the IRWMP allows further study of options to share the use of, and therefore the cost of, extending an import pipeline to our area.  Known as conjunctive use, the potential “multipurpose” pipeline could also be used by the inland water districts when it is not being used to import irrigation water. 

 

 

A wide range of scenarios remain to be studied during the implementation of the IRWMP. One scenario includes water transfers and seasonal water banking between the three areas.  Other scenarios may include ideas such as piping highly treated wastewater and/or brackish shallow groundwater to the Pajaro Valley for storage, treatment (as necessary) and/or for direct delivery as irrigation water. It is not known which of these various options are feasible. If any feasible alternatives are found, the Agency Board would then decide if they should be studied further and start any required environmental impact analysis.

 

Future Steps Following Completion of IRWM Plan

The adoption of the Plan is now scheduled for May 2007. This will signal the end of the current planning phase. The Plan will be a "reconnaissance" level planning document; meaning that it will be a survey, an initial ranking and an integration of about 100 diverse water projects throughout the watershed. Four Implementation Teams will be formed to pursue each of the four Programs (listed in Section 5.2). Much more work (feasibility studies, engineering studies, etc) will be needed during 2007-08 to transition from this initial planning phase to actual construction of the projects. The Implementation chapter (Chapter 7) of the Plan is key since it describes the future efforts needed to actually pursue high priority projects. The Agency Board of Directors will provide guidance on what, if any, of the import pipeline alternatives to pursue. If projects proved to be feasible and the Agency Board authorized pursuit of the projects, the environmental analysis (e.g. an Environmental Impact Report) would be required at that time. An environmental analyses is not required for an IRWMP since it is only intended to review potential options for future projects.

 

 

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