REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Action to approve (1) the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and (2) the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
Report
BACKGROUND
State law requires that any urban water supplier that provides water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000 customers or serves more than 3,000 acre-feet annually, adopt an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) every five years, demonstrating water supply reliability in normal, single dry, and multiple dry years.
In November 2009, the California State legislature passed the Water Conservation Act of 2009 (also known as SB X7-7). SB X7-7 required the State of California to achieve a 20% reduction in urban per capita water use by the end of 2020. As part of this legislation, the City of Santa Clara Water & Sewer Utilities Department was required to set water use targets to be met by 2020, which were initially developed in the 2010 UWMP. The City has met the conservation compliance targets.
Additionally, in response to the severe drought of 2012-2016, new legislation in 2018 mandated a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), requiring water suppliers to prepare and adopt a WSCP as part of their 2020 UWMP. This WSCP has been revised and updated to comply with California Water Code Section 10632.
The City last updated its UWMP and WSCP in 2021 (i.e., 2020 UWMP). The 2020 UWMP provided the City with a reliable water management action plan that could be referred to with confidence and continuously as water supply conditions changed and new developments were proposed within the City. The 2020 UWMP assisted the City with assessing available supply to meet future water demands.
DISCUSSION
The 2025 UWMP projects that the City will meet projected water demands through 2050, with no anticipated supply shortfalls. The 2025 UWMP assessed the City’s ability to meet projected water demands under varying supply scenarios, including single- and multiple-dry-year scenarios, loss of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) supply, and the phased implementation of the Bay Delta Plan applicable at the time the 2025 UWMP was prepared.
The WSCP specifies opportunities to promote water conservation, enforce prohibitions on water waste, and reduce demand during water shortages.
The WSCP is intended to serve as an action plan for the City during drought or catastrophic water supply shortages. The City’s WSCP has been updated to correspond with the State’s six standard water shortage levels. The six standard water shortage levels correspond to progressive ranges of 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-percent shortages, as well as greater than 50-percent shortages. Response actions to reduce water demand are outlined for each shortage level, including communication protocols and procedures to inform residents, businesses, and the City Council of any current or predicted shortages. Activation or deactivation of a water shortage level contained in the WSCP must be approved by the City Council through adoption of a Resolution.
After the adoption of the 2025 UWMP, Water Supply Assessments (WSAs) will be completed for projects not approved by the City Council and whose water demands were not specifically included in the UWMP’s growth projections. WSAs will reference the currently adopted UWMP to assess the City’s ability to meet additional water demand.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered is statutorily exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15282(v), which exempts the preparation and adoption of the UWMPs.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of the 2025 UWMP and 2025 WSCP does not have a fiscal impact beyond the staff time to prepare them. The UWMP forecasts increased water demands based on growth in Santa Clara over the planning horizon. These increased demands may result in higher costs to purchase water from wholesalers such as the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the SFPUC. The WSCP outlines conservation and demand management strategies to be implemented during severe drought. These strategies will likely come with costs above budget. The actual level of increased costs caused by either the UWMP or WSCP is unknown at this time.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
Public participation is required as part of the 2025 UWMP and WSCP preparation. This effort was completed in conjunction with other water retailers, public agencies and water wholesalers. This agenda item will serve as the virtual and public hearing regarding the 2025 UWMP update and WSCP update. A copy of the City’s proposed 2025 UWMP and WSCP are available online on the City’s website for review prior to the public hearing.
Newspaper notice of this public hearing was published in the Santa Clara Weekly, a newspaper of general circulation, on June 3 and June 10, 2026, in accordance with California Water Code Section 10642.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Determine that the proposed actions are statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15282(v) of Title 14 of California Code of Regulations;
2. Adopt a Resolution approving the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan; and
3. Adopt a Resolution approving the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
Staff
Reviewed by: John Ramirez, Director, Water and Sewer Utilities
Approved by: Jōvan Grogan, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed Resolution Approving the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan
2. Proposed Resolution Approving the Water Shortage Contingency Plan
3. 2025 Urban Water Management Plan
4. 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan