1 TO: City Council
FROM: Andrew Vialpando, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Andres Gonzalez, Public Works Director
MEETING DATE: October 21, 2025
SUBJECT: Cost-Share Agreement with West Basin Municipal Water District for Preparation of the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan Update
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a formal cost-share agreement with West Basin Municipal Water District in an amount not to exceed $37,500 for the development of the City’s 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP).
BACKGROUND
The California Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act), Water Code Sections 10608 and 10610 through 10656 requires that every urban water supplier providing water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000 customers or supplying more than 3,000 acrefeet of water annually prepare and adopt an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). The Act requires urban water suppliers to prepare plans that describe and evaluate reasonable and practical efficient water uses, recycling and conservation activities, which provides long-term resource planning to ensure adequate and reliable water supplies. These plans must be filed with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) every five years. The City last completed an UWMP for 2020, which was submitted to DWR in 2021. The proposed work will update the plan for 2025 and prepare for the submission of the 2025 UWMP to DWR by July 1, 2026, the due date.
DISCUSSION
The UWMP will analyze the reliability of water sources over a 25-year planning timeframe, describe demand management measures and water shortage contingency plans, report progress towards meeting urban water consumption reduction goals (e.g. conservation efforts), and discuss the use of planned water sources under projected scenario conditions. In previous UWMP cycles, West Basin and its municipal customer retail
CITY OF LOMITA
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
Item No. 7g
2 agencies (including Lomita) conducted planning activities in a mostly independent fashion.
For the 2025 UWMP, West Basin staff is proposing to complete this requirement under a Cost Share Agreement (Attachment 1) and in partnership with West Basin’s municipal customer retail agencies. The proposed agreement is between West Basin, the City of El Segundo, the City of Inglewood, the City of Lomita, and the City of Manhattan Beach. A single consultant will prepare UWMPs for each of the participating agencies. This regional partnership seeks efficiency in assessing shared water demands, water supplies, and demand management measures in meeting all regulatory requirements. Use of a single consultant will allow for a concurrent planning process that streamlines inter-agency communications that require more time and effort when utilizing a non-regional approach.
West Basin staff prepared a Request for Proposals (RFP) for professional engineering services for the development of the UWMP. A total of 499 consulting firms received the RFP notice, and 35 consulting firms accessed the RFP. By the closing date, three proposals were received from qualified consultant teams. On August 26, the three teams participated in interviews hosted by a panel of three West Basin staff members, which included representatives from the Water Policy and Engineering departments. Ultimately, Water Systems Consulting (WSC) was selected by West Basin staff. West Basin staff resolved that the WSC proposal was complete and provided a detailed approach and understanding of project needs and noted that WSC listed extensive experience conducting regional approaches to completing UWMPs.
The cost of the project shall not exceed $250,000. Total project costs shall be apportioned between West Basin and each participating agency. West Basin will be responsible for up to $100,000, and each of the four remaining participating agencies (the City of El Segundo, the City of Inglewood, the City of Lomita, and the City of Manhattan Beach) will be individually responsible for $37,500.
WSC is a civil and environmental engineering firm that specializes in the planning, design, evaluation and optimization of municipal drinking water, wastewater, and recycled water systems. WSC serves special districts, cities, counties, investor-owned utilities, and regulatory agencies throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. WSC previously prepared West Basin’s 2020 UWMP and brings a detailed understanding of West Basin’s existing water supplies, unique end-uses of recycled water, as well as proposed regional projects in and around the West Basin service area.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for these professional services are included in the FY25-26 budget in the Water Operations Account.
3 VISION, MISSION, VALUES, AND STRATEGIC OUTCOMES
The City’s Vision, Mission, and Values set the standard for the organization, establish priorities, uniformity and guidelines; and provide the framework for policy decision making. The Strategic Outcomes were implemented to provide a pathway to achieving the City’s Vision. This item aligns with Strategic Outcome No. 5: City Infrastructure & Water Utility – Investing in reliable, sustainable infrastructure.
OPTIONS
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute a Cost Share Agreement for a not-to-exceed amount of $37,500 with West Basin Municipal Water for the preparation of the City’s 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) by Water Systems Consulting.
2. Provide alternative direction.
ATTACHMENTS
1. West Basin Cost Share Agreement
Prepared by:: Approved by:
_______________________ ______________________
Andres Gonzalez Andrew Vialpando
Director of Public Works City Manager