To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Grant Davis 547-1911
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Travel authorization for Sonoma Water to attend Western Interstate Region (WIR) Conference
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize out of state travel for Assistant General Manager Brad Sherwood to attend the National Association of Counties’ Western Interstate Region Conference May 17-19, 2023 in St. George, Utah.
end
Executive Summary:
In 2022, Sonoma Water entered into an agreement with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to provide education, awareness and coalition development on the issue of subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) weather forecasting. Included in this agreement is funding for staff time and travel to support this scope of work. The National Association of Counties’ Western Interstate Conference (NACO WIC) in St. George, Utah on May 17-19, 2023 is hosting a panel on extreme weather forecasting and reservoir management, which will include S2S forecasting. Assistant General Manager Sherwood has assisted with the development of this panel and is coordinating the implementation of the DWR agreement including attending meetings and conferences to support increasing awareness of the S2S issue. Board Policy requires staff that travel outside the state more than twice in a given fiscal year need Board approval. This action is being presented according to the County’s 3-2 Travel and Meal Reimbursements Policy which requires approval of the Board for more than three out-of-state trips in a fiscal year.
Discussion:
The NACO WIR Conference brings together county officials from across the nation to focus on pressing issues facing counties and our residents. Each year the conference is hosted by a county within the fifteen Western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and provides attendees with the opportunity to interact with federal, state and regional policymakers, participate in educational sessions and take home tools to address challenges.
This year, the NACO WIR will feature a panel on extreme weather forecasting, including Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) and S2S forecasting. The conference and panel discussion will provide an opportunity to meet a goal of the DWR agreement with Sonoma Water to increase awareness and education of the issue of S2S forecasting.
California and other states stand to benefit in many ways from emerging research methods that have the potential to improve the skill of subseasonal (2- to 6-week) to seasonal (2- to 6-month) precipitation forecasts. Such forecasts could help, for example, in managing water supplies during winters with periods of prolonged drought. Long-lasting drought conditions present unique challenges, such as the necessity for drought response activation at the state level. Since 2017, DWR has funded a partnership to improve S2S forecasting prediction of precipitation over the western United States, with a particular focus on California. This partnership includes the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other institutional collaborators.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
None.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
$2,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$2,000 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$2,000 |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$2,000 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $2,000 is available from FY 2022/2023 appropriations for the Sonoma Water General Fund with $2,000 in offsetting state grant revenue. 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):
None.
Attachments:
None.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Conference Agenda