To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Grant Davis 707-547-1900, Dale Roberts 707-547-1979
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Sonoma County Drought Resilience Plan
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute the Second Amended and Restated Agreement for Development of a Sonoma County Drought Resilience Plan with West Yost and Associates, Inc., (Consultant) in substantially the form presented to this Board. The amended agreement allows Consultant to: increase its rates by up to 11%; reallocate the budget to include new tasks and expanded scope for collaboration on the Countywide Drought Resilience Plan; and extend the term to June 30, 2027, without increasing the not-to-exceed cost to Sonoma County Water Agency.
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Executive Summary:
Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) and its water contractors have several ongoing water management programs to mitigate impacts of drought. In 2022, Sonoma Water and the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) formed a multi-agency, multi-stakeholder Drought Task Force. West Yost and Associates, Inc., (Consultant) is coordinating with the Drought Task Force in the preparation of a Drought Resilience Plan (Plan). $175,000 in funding for the project was approved as part of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors’ (Board) Climate Resilience Fund allocation on 01 February 2022.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
Sonoma Water and its water contractors have several ongoing water management programs to mitigate impacts of drought. Some areas of Sonoma County are not covered by these programs because they are not within the service areas of Sonoma Water. 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 is the focus of the Plan to better understand the Study Area’s drought vulnerability.
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 resilience and water shortage preparedness. SB 552 places the drought and water shortage planning responsibility on counties for small water systems and domestic well communities within each county’s jurisdiction.
Sonoma County, led by Sonoma Water and DEM, formed a multi-agency, multi-stakeholder Drought Task Force in 2022. Consultant is coordinating with the Drought Task Force in the preparation of the Plan to assist in meeting the requirements of SB 552. Additionally, drought vulnerabilities identified in Sonoma Water’s 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan are being incorporated into the Plan.
Consultant is working with the Drought Task Force and the Supervisorial Districts to obtain public stakeholder input. Sonoma Water and DEM websites are being used to keep stakeholders and other parties informed about the development of the Plan. Briefings have been, and will continue to be, provided for stakeholders (including but not limited to Sonoma County agencies, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies [GSAs], USDA Farm Service Agency, Drought Task Force, and Supervisorial Districts).
On February 2, 2022, staff from the County Administrator’s Office Climate Action and Resilience Division presented the Climate Action, Resilience and Equity Framework (CARE Framework) to guide development and implementation of climate and resilience actions. The CARE Framework was used to evaluate potential projects and make recommendations for allocation of the $10 million Climate Resilience Fund. The Drought Resilience Planning Project met the criteria for the Board’s climate and resilience policy priorities, and the Board approved $300,000 for the Study Area.
To date, Consultant has conducted a kick-off meeting and individual meetings with Sonoma County Supervisorial Districts to introduce the effort and collect constituent experiences with the effects of drought on domestic well and state small water system communities. Consultant has also prepared drought vulnerability and risk assessments for each Supervisorial District. The methodology for the assessment is complete, and the assessments are in progress.
Next steps include the presentation of the assessment results to stakeholders, followed by the development of short-term response and long-term mitigation actions for drought by Supervisorial District and countywide, which will be included in a Drought Resilience Plan. DEM also received funds of $190,000 from the California Department of Water Resources to support SB 552 Drought Resilience Plan development, which will be used to develop the Sonoma County Drought Resiliency Plan, and is projected to be completed in March of 2026.
Sonoma Water and Consultant entered into an agreement for development of a Sonoma County Drought Resilience Plan, dated June 15, 2023, in the amount of $175,000.
A first amended agreement extended the term by one year to June 30, 2026, at no additional cost.
SELECTION PROCESS
Consultant was selected from a list of qualified consultants developed from a competitive selection process and was selected for the subject work because of its extensive experience in drought resilience planning in Sonoma County and northern California. Attached is a memo that explains the competitive selection process.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
Under the second amended agreement, Consultant will provide project management and coordination, conduct public outreach, support preparation of the Plan, and provide support in identifying funding opportunities.
This agreement is being amended to allow Consultant to increase its rates per Exhibit B of the attached amended agreement; rates will increase by between 9% and 11%, depending on personnel title. Additionally, the amended agreement modifies the scope of work to add Plan preparation support to DEM and funding opportunity identification, and allows a one-year extension for a new term end date of June 30, 2027. The not-to-exceed cost will remain at $175,000, as in the current agreement.
The amended agreement includes authorization for the General Manager to make changes to lengthen time schedules or make minor modifications to the scope of work, which do not increase the amount paid under the agreement, in a form approved by County Counsel.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment:
N/A
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Goal: Climate Change
Strategy: Develop and implement practices to understand and minimize vulnerability to climate change impacts.
Action: Support interagency partnership efforts addressing regional climate-resilience planning and projects.
Preparation of a drought resilience plan will improve all 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 drought.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
See attachment 3
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$64,583 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$64,583 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$64,583 |
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|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
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|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
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Total Sources |
$64,583 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Despite the rate increase, the not-to-exceed cost will remain at $175,000, as in the current agreement. No additional appropriation is required.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Amended Agreement with West Yost and Associates, Inc.
Attachment 2: Competitive Selection Process Memo
Attachment 3: Prior Board Actions
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.