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A Commitment to Action: Advancing Integrated Water Management in California
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A Commitment to Action: Advancing Integrated Water Management in California
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 11, 2013...
Summary
This document highlights the key perspectives and recommendations that emerged during the Integrated Water Management Summit held in Sacramento on April 3, 2013. ...
This document highlights the key perspectives and recommendations that emerged during the Integrated Water Management Summit held in Sacramento on April 3, 2013. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) hosted the event in partnership with the Water Education Foundation and the California Water Commission, and would like to thank the 200+ attendees and guest speakers who participated in the Summit.

The goal of the Summit was to bring together water leaders from myriad agencies and organizations to share experiences and ideas on how we can effectively align to provide sustainable water resources services in the State, in the face of an uncertain future.

Most agree that the water management approaches we have been relying on for several decades are no longer sustainable given today’s economic climate, our changing environment and the need to supply safe drinking water, agricultural water and flood protection for a growing population, while also protecting and enhancing valuable environmental resources. The thoughtful presentations and informative discussions at the Summit served as an important milestone in the movement to shape a more cooperative and effective approach to water management in California.

The Summit launched a new campaign called “Water 360” to help refocus and strengthen the collective efforts of California’s water management community by advancing integrated water management. Integrated water management is a framework for planning and implementation that melds the objectives of improving public safety, fostering environmental stewardship and supporting economic stability to lead to sustainable water resource management.

Integrated water management is not a new concept in California, and great strides have been made in the last decade to utilize the approach, particularly at the regional level. The Water 360 Campaign builds on these early successes and calls for broader application across the entire state. DWR is prepared and committed to lead this effort in close partnership with other water leaders, particularly State, federal, and local agencies; and in collaboration with all stakeholders.

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Artes: An Integrated Model of Water Supply in L.A. County

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Artes: An Integrated Model of Water Supply in L.A. County
UCLA: Sustainable LA Grand Challenge | May 1, 2017...
Summary
Los Angeles faces a future with less imported water. Infrastructure and institutions will have to adapt. Understanding emerging policy and investment needs requires analysis...
Los Angeles faces a future with less imported water. Infrastructure and institutions will have to adapt. Understanding emerging policy and investment needs requires analysis across systems, a typically elusive goal within the diverse and disparately managed water systems of L.A. A more comprehensive analysis of water resources in Los Angeles requires an understanding of people, pipes, and plants. It could also be flexible to incorporate the fast-changing landscape of models, data, and analysis that the active agencies of the region continue to develop.

With these goals in mind, we developed a water supply model for the metropolitan L.A. County region (Artes) to understand the potential for enhancing local water use across scenarios of demand and supply. The basic approach combines knowledge from engineering, hydrology, ecology, and sociology. The model is intentionally lightweight. Flexible and adaptive modeling can address many questions at multiple geographic scales, while also being able to incorporate new tools, data, and other models that are released. This model was developed to:

* Determine how local groundwater, recycling and stormwater capture supplies could maximally meet water demands across L.A. County, based on current knowledge of hydrology and hydrogeology

* Analyze tradeoffs in per capita water demand and available imported water supplies

* Investigate system-wide effects of increased conservation

* Minimize assumptions regarding data gaps

* Use modeling to highlight to key gaps in scientific understanding, while creatively addressing the shortfalls in a precautionary manner. For instance, we compare modeled and historic groundwater pumping and managed aquifer recharge to assess the potential for groundwater overdraft.

This manual describes important information for understanding model operations, assumptions, inputs, and outputs. The manual version (3.7) was written after development of 3 versions code for different research studies, which are in press or under review.

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Bringing Water and Land Use Together

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Bringing Water and Land Use Together
The Local Government Commission | April 11, 2019...
Summary
In 2005, the California Legislature passed new laws that enable communities to join together to adopt Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) policies and...
In 2005, the California Legislature passed new laws that enable communities to join together to adopt Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) policies and practices. This comprehensive planning approach considers water resources in the context of an interconnected watershed with a network of regional governance, rather than as a combination of fragmented parts. Unfortunately, the IRWM program is dominated by the water sector and in most regions has not pursued alignment with land use.

Similarly, the Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS) mandated through SB 375 establish a framework for aligning land use practices (predominantly housing and transportation) across jurisdictions within a larger geographic region. Yet very few SCSs have taken water resources into account.

While water management and land-use planning remain highly fragmented across the state, we are making progress toward a more integrated approach, especially when setting new state-level policies, regulations and guidance. The 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is a leap forward in this direction. For the first time, local land use agencies have an opportunity to be full partners with water agencies in shaping groundwater governance. It is too soon to determine how well these two sectors are integrating under SGMA, but early results are promising.

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Climate Change and Integrated Regional Water Management in California: A Preliminary Assessment of Regional Approaches
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Climate Change and Integrated Regional Water Management in California: A Preliminary Assessment of Regional Approaches
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | June 6, 2012...
Summary
This report examines the initial steps that IRWM regions are taking in response to new requirements to address climate change vulnerabilities and consider...
This report examines the initial steps that IRWM regions are taking in response to new requirements to address climate change vulnerabilities and consider greenhouse gas emissions in IRWM plans.

Given our evolving understanding of climate change impacts and appropriate adaptation strategies, effectively integrating climate change into planning is a challenging task. This report seeks to
learn from initial steps by IRWM regions in order to inform future guidance and support. It also identifies key considerations for DWR and IRWM regions in analyzing and adapting to climate change
risks within an adaptive management framework.

Specifically, this report seeks to:

1. Assess the manner and degree to which the climate change requirements in the 2010 IRWM Guidelines are met in Round 1 Proposition 84 Planning and Implementation grant proposals, and in recently approved IRWM plans
2. Assess current IRWM regional approaches to analyzing and adapting to climate change risks, in light of the overall goal to promote an adaptive management approach
3. Provide recommendations on key steps for DWR and IRWM regions to support the development of informative climate change analyses and mechanisms for adaptive management at regional and state levels

This assessment is based on a review of the current IRWM climate change requirements, existing IRWM plans, and Planning and Implementation grant proposals funded in 2011. It is also informed by interviews conducted by DWR regional climate change specialists with representatives of IRWM regions regarding their plans to address climate change.

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Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters
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Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | March 20, 2008...
Summary
This handbook provides information on developing and implementing watershed management plans that help to restore and protect water quality. A watershed is the...
This handbook provides information on developing and implementing watershed management plans that help to restore and protect water quality. A watershed is the area of land that contributes runoff to a lake, river, stream, wetland, estuary, or bay. A watershed management plan defines and addresses existing or future water quality problems from both point sources and nonpoint sources of pollutants. Experience over the past decade has shown that effective watershed management includes active participation from stakeholders, analysis and quantification of the specific causes and sources of water quality problems, identification of measurable water quality goals, and implementation of specific actions needed to solve those problems.

This handbook is intended to serve as the basis for developing and implementing watershed plans to meet water quality standards and protect water resources. Although watershed plans are useful for all watersheds to protect and restore water resources, as well as to meet other community resource goals, they are critical for impaired or threatened waterbodies. The most recent national water quality assessment reported that 40 to 50 percent of the nation’s assessed waterbodies are impaired or threatened.

3/20This handbook is designed to provide a framework to help you develop a scientifically defensible plan that will lead to measurable results and an overall improvement in the water quality and watershed conditions that are important to your community.

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Integrated Regional Water Management: Stakeholder Perspectives
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Integrated Regional Water Management: Stakeholder Perspectives
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 18, 2017...
Summary
Integrated regional water management (IRWM) is the application of integrated water management principles at the regional level. IRWM brings local agencies and other...
Integrated regional water management (IRWM) is the application of integrated water management principles at the regional level. IRWM brings local agencies and other stakeholders, with a range of water-related roles and interests, together to address water management needs collaboratively within self-identified regions accepted by the State. The practice of IRWM is rooted in the principle of regional control, recognizing that local and regional water managers and other stakeholders, working together in a collaborative, open, and transparent manner, are best suited and best positioned to manage water resources in their regions.

Issues including limited groundwater and surface water supplies, drought, flooding, climate change, water quality, environmental degradation, aging infrastructure, economic constraints, recreation, and cultural considerations are addressed through coordinated and integrated actions.

IRWM is helping California move away from a legacy of fragmented, divisive, conflict prone, and sometimes ineffective water management practices by supporting cooperation among agencies and other stakeholders.

Integrated water management at the regional level:

Helps provide for public safety.
Supports a healthy economy.
Supports ecosystem vitality.

IRWM benefits accrue at the local and regional level, but also “roll up” to the state level, helping California meet its collective water management needs. When IRWM succeeds, California succeeds.

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LA Sustainable Water Project: Los Angeles City-Wide Overview

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LA Sustainable Water Project: Los Angeles City-Wide Overview
UCLA: Sustainable LA Grand Challenge | February 1, 2018...
Summary
This report assesses the potential to improve water quality standards while integrating complementary One Water Management practices that can increase potential local water...
This report assesses the potential to improve water quality standards while integrating complementary One Water Management practices that can increase potential local water supplies for the City of Los Angeles (the City). This final report summarizes the current practices and future opportunities at the City-owned Water Reclamation Plants and underlying groundwater basins and highlights the importance of considering all aspects of integrated water management even when dealing with water quality or supply-focused projects.

Implementing watershed-scale best management practice programs to meet stormwater permit requirements will significantly improve water quality in all watersheds. However, additional mechanisms such as increasing Low Impact Development implementation and comprehensive source tracking and source control mechanisms will be required to potentially eliminate water quality exceedances. There are multiple efforts occurring in the City and the region to increase the recharge of recycled water into the ground and the volumes of remediated groundwater extracted.

This research further assessed the impacts of potential water supply portfolios, with greater volumes of locally-supplied water, on GHG emissions and energy needs of supplying LA’s water. Conservation will be another powerful tool to decrease our dependence on imported water. This research demonstrates the complex interrelationships between all aspects of urban water management, including, for example, stormwater management and local water supply.

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Pumping for the masses: evolution of groundwater management in metropolitan Los Angeles

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Pumping for the masses: evolution of groundwater management in metropolitan Los Angeles
Geo Journal, Springer | August 7, 2015...
Summary
Groundwater supports many aspects of human life. In cities, groundwater can provide a cost-effective source of water for drinking and industrial uses, while...
Groundwater supports many aspects of human life. In cities, groundwater can provide a cost-effective source of water for drinking and industrial uses, while groundwater basins provide storage. The role of groundwater in a city’s water supply tends to change over time. In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, groundwater is critical. Over decades, users in the region’s many basins allocated annual pumping rights to groundwater among users through adjudications. These rights were determined through collective processes over decades, which contributed to the complex array of public and private organizations involved in water management. The rights also continue to evolve. We analyzed changes in the distribution of groundwater rights over time for adjudicated basins in Southern Los Angeles County. Results indicate that groundwater rights are increasingly: (1) controlled or regulated by public institutions and municipalities, and (2) consolidated among larger users. Yet, both the percentage of total supplies provided by groundwater, as well as the distribution of groundwater rights, varies widely among cities and communities throughout Los Angeles. As metropolitan Los Angeles faces reduced water imports and emphasizes local water reliance, access to pumping rights and storage capacity in groundwater basins will become even more vital. We discuss implications of our results for future urban water management.

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Regional Governance of Flood Management in the Central Valley
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Regional Governance of Flood Management in the Central Valley
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | May 30, 2014...
Summary
California faces significant challenges in managing its highly variable water resources, particularly as climate change and a growing population exacerbate drought and flood...
California faces significant challenges in managing its highly variable water resources, particularly as climate change and a growing population exacerbate drought and flood risks. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and other state agencies have been encouraging integrated approaches to water management, taking into account the connections between water supply, water quality, flood protection, and ecosystem health. The recent California Water Action Plan calls for improved coordination between local, state and federal agencies and tribal governments in order to develop multi-benefit water management strategies. Regional-scale planning has become a crucial avenue for advancing these efforts. Initiated in 2002, the Integrated Regional Water Management Planning (IRWM) process has led to the formation of 48 water planning regions statewide, in which diverse local agencies have developed integrated plans for managing all aspects of a region’s water management.

More recently, a Regional Flood Management Planning (RFMP) process was created in the context of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan to advance integrated approaches to reducing flood risks. Six flood planning regions, overlapping with nine IRWM regions, were formed in 2012.

This study analyzes the origins and functioning of the IRWM and RFMP processes, and the degree of coordination between them to address flood risks in the Central Valley. In particular, it examines how each is working to generate multi-benefit strategies, and how they account for climate change. It also discusses opportunities for future coordination between the IRWM and RFMP processes, and DWR’s role in supporting this.

This study is primarily based upon an analysis of publicly available documents related to the IRWM and RFMP processes. It is also informed by meeting observations and conversations with staff at DWR and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, and participants in IRWM and RFMP processes. Since RFMPs were not yet completed at the time of this writing, this study’s findings are preliminary.

Nonetheless, this report provides an indication of the overall functioning of these RFMP and IRWM regions, and some general considerations for DWR as it assesses next steps in supporting these programs.

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Report on an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan for the San Joaquin Valley of California
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Report on an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan for the San Joaquin Valley of California
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | May 1, 2016...
Summary
A major investment has been made through California voter-approved general obligation bonds to incentivize regional water infrastructure and management solutions that improve self-sufficiency,...
A major investment has been made through California voter-approved general obligation bonds to incentivize regional water infrastructure and management solutions that improve self-sufficiency, reduce water use impacts and support environmental protection and restoration. The program, put into California water statutes in 2002, and managed by the California State Department of Water Resources (DWR), is called Integrated Regional Water Management Planning (IRWMP). This planning tool, along with other water management strategies, actions and activities that have emerged, were ultimately intended to be elevated to an aggregate effort for the entire San Joaquin Valley into a Valley-wide integrated water plan. The aggregate effort was included as a goal in federal legislation (PL 111-11, Section 10101). The legislation included funding for the California Water Institute (CWI) at California State University, Fresno to prepare a report on the Valley-wide activities.

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