To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Dale Roberts 707-547-1979
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Sonoma County Drought Resilience Plan
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with West Yost and Associates, Inc., in a form approved by County Counsel, for development of a Sonoma County drought resilience plan through June 30, 2025, in the not-to-exceed amount of $175,000.
end
Executive Summary:
In 2021, the California State Senate passed Senate Bill 552 (SB 552) that added requirements to address gaps in local and state water management for drought resiliency and water shortage preparedness and places planning responsibility on counties for small water systems and domestic well communities within each county’s jurisdiction. Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) and its contractors have several ongoing water management programs to mitigate impacts of drought, but several areas of Sonoma County are not covered by these programs because they are not within the service areas of Sonoma Water and its contractors. In 2022, Sonoma Water and the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management formed a multi-agency, multi-stakeholder Drought Task Force. West Yost and Associates, Inc., (Consultant) will coordinate with the Drought Task Force in the preparation of a Drought Resilience Plan (Plan) to assist Sonoma County in meeting the requirements of SB 552. Funding for the project was allocated from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors (Board) Climate Resilience Fund.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
Sonoma Water and its contractors have several ongoing water management programs to mitigate impacts of drought. Several areas of Sonoma County are not covered by these programs because they are not within the service areas of, or receive limited service from, Sonoma Water and its contractors. These areas (Study Area) have experienced varied impacts during drought depending on the adequacy of existing engineered water systems and production capacity of local groundwater wells. The Study Area will be the focus of the Plan to better understand the Study Area’s drought vulnerability.
In 2021, the California State Senate passed SB 552 that added requirements to address gaps in local and state water management for drought resiliency and water shortage preparedness in recognition that, “No one should go without running water during a drought.” (Water Code § 10609.50, subd. (e).) SB 552 places the drought and water shortage planning responsibility on counties for state small water systems and domestic well communities within each county’s jurisdiction. The California Department of Water Resources has prepared assistance in the form of a Draft County Drought Resilience Plan Guidebook that Consultant will reference when preparing the Plan.
Sonoma County, led by Sonoma Water and the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management, formed a multi-agency, multi-stakeholder Drought Task Force in 2022. Consultant will coordinate with the Drought Task Force in the preparation of the Plan to assist Sonoma County in meeting the requirements of SB 552. Additionally, Sonoma Water’s 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan that evaluated vulnerabilities within Sonoma Water’s service areas due to climate change effects of temperature, sea level rise, extreme precipitation, river flood, drought, and wildfire will be incorporated into the Plan.
Consultant will work with the Drought Task Force and the Supervisorial Districts to obtain public stakeholder input. Sonoma Water’s website will be used to keep stakeholders and other parties informed about the development of the Plan. Briefings will be provided at public meetings, including at Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meetings and Drought Task Force meetings.
On February 2, 2022, staff from the County Administrator’s Office Climate Action and Resiliency Division presented the Climate Action, Resiliency and Equity (CARE) Framework to guide development and implementation of climate and resiliency actions, which the Board has prioritized. The CARE Framework was used to evaluate potential projects and make recommendations for allocation of the $10 million Climate Resilience Fund. The Drought Resiliency Planning Project met the criteria for the Board’s climate and resiliency policy priorities, and the Board approved $300,000 for the Study.
SELECTION PROCESS
Consultant was selected from a list of qualified consultants developed from a competitive selection process. Attached is a memo that explains the competitive selection process.
Consultant was selected for the subject work because of its extensive experience in drought resiliency planning in Sonoma County.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
Under the agreement, Consultant will:
1. Gather and review background and historical information.
2. Conduct risk and vulnerability assessment.
3. Develop short-term response actions and long-term mitigation strategy and actions.
4. Prepare a Sonoma County drought resilience plan.
5. Provide public outreach support to Sonoma Water.
The cost of services will not exceed $175,000; the term end date is June 30, 2025.
The agreement includes two options for Sonoma Water to extend the term for a period of one year each by providing written notice to Consultant thirty days in advance of the expiration date of the agreement and of the first extension option. The extension will be formalized in an amended agreement or amendment signed by Sonoma Water and Consultant.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment
This item directly supports Sonoma County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 4: Seek out grant funding to enhance programs and improve infrastructure
Objective: Objective 1: Secure a total of $60 million in grant funding by 2026 for strategic priorities, including technology tools, climate resiliency, and other capital projects.
Conducting risk and vulnerability assessment to develop short-term response actions and long-term mitigation strategy and actions to include in a Sonoma County drought resilience plan will help make local water districts and emergency management entities eligible for state and federal climate resiliency funding.
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Climate Change, Goal 1: Continuing improving our ability to respond and adapt to climate change.
Preparation of a drought resilience plan will improve Sonoma Water’s and other local water districts’ abilities to adapt to climate change impacts to water supply by identifying solutions based on vulnerability and risk assessments of their service areas due to effects of temperature changes, sea level rise, extreme variations in precipitation intensities, river flooding, drought, and wildfire.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
05/11/2021: Authorized Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with Conservation Biology Institute, to develop a Fire Risk Reduction Decision Support Framework through June 30, 2022, in the not-to-exceed amount of $480,000.
10/20/2020: Authorized Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute the Fourth Amended Agreement for Climate Adaptation Plan Preparation with CH2MHill to provide a climate adaptation plan. The amended agreement increases the amount by $108,000 and expands the scope of work to include additional quantitative analysis tasks, for a new not-to-exceed agreement total of $937,214 and no change to term end date of June 30, 2021.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$175,000 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$175,000 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$175,000 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$175,000 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $175,000 is available from FY 2022/2023 appropriations for the Sustainability Fund with $175,000 in offsetting revenue from the County of Sonoma Climate Resiliency Fund. No additional appropriation is required.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Competitive Selection Process Memo
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.