ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
MEETING DATE: September 16, 2026 AGENDA CATEGORY: Consent - Resolutions TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Daniel Maldonado, Assistant Water Director
DATE: September 1, 2026
SUBJECT: Resolution Adopting City’s 2025 Urban Water Man agement Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan
[Document Description]
RECOMMENDATION: City staff recommend adoption of the resolution.
BACKGROUND: A public hearing was held during the Water Board Meeting on August 19, 2026 to consider adoption of the City’s 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP). On August 19, 2026, the Water Board approved the plan to present the resolution to Council for formal adoption of the 2025 UWMP and WSCP.
The 2025 UWMP was prepared in accordance with the California Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act) which was established in 1983. The Act requires every Urban Water Supplier to prepare and adopt an UWMP, to periodically review it at least once every five years, and make any amendments or changes which are indicated by the review. An Urban Water Supplier is defined as a supplier providing water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000 customers or supplying more than 3,000 acre -feet of water annually. The primary objective of the Act is to direct Urban Water Suppliers to prepare an UWMP that describes and evaluates sources of supply, reasonable and practical efficient uses, reclamation, and demand management activities. In 2020, Urban Water Suppliers were required to adopt a separate WSCP that may be updated independently of the UWMP. City staff elected to update the WSCP concurrently, and it is included as an attachment with the 2025 UWMP.
This 2025 UWMP combines both the retail (Municipal Water System) and wholesale (Wholesale Water System) activities of the City and is an update to the previously prepared and adopted 2020 UWMP. This 2025 UWMP fol lows California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) “2025 Urban Water Management Plan Guidebook” dated January 2026.
Prior to the public hearing, t he City ha d coordinated the preparation of th e 2025 UWMP with the appropriate agencies, including other local water purveyors and agencies that receive water from the City.
Notification letters were sent to these agencies at least 60 days prior to th e public hearing. The 2025 UWMP was also posted on the City’s website and was made available for review at th e City’s Water Resources office. A public notification of the hearing was published in the newspaper on August 5 th and August 12th, 2026.
If adopted by Council, the 2025 UWMP will be submitted to the DWR and the California State Library within 30 days after adoption.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no impact to the General Fund associated with approval of this resolution.
COUNCIL GOAL:
Reliable Infrastructure
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2025 UWMP WSCP Resolution
2. 2025 City of Bakersfield UWMP
3. 2026.08.19 Water Board Meeting Minutes – UWMP WSCP Hearing