City Council Agenda Report
June 16, 2026
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Jesus M. Gomez, City Manager
BY: Albert Mendoza P.E., Public Services Director/City Engineer Jacque Koontz P.E., Senior Civil Engineer
Fabian Lucarelli EIT Associate Engineer
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING - RESOLUTION NO. 26-33 – ADOPT AND SUBMIT TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES THE CITY’S 2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN AND 2025 WATER SHORTAGE
CONTINGENCY PLAN
Background:
California Water Code Sections 10610 through 10656 of the Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act) requires every urban water supplier that provides water for municipal purposes to greater than 3,000 customers or annually supplies more than 3,000 acre-feet of water to prepare, adopt, and file an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) every five years in years ending in zero and five. The 2025 UWMP and WSCP updates are due to DWR by July 1, 2026.
These plans support the suppliers’ long-term resource planning to ensure adequate water supplies are available to meet existing and future water needs. DWR provides guidance for urban water suppliers by preparing a UWMP Guidebook, conducting workshops, developing tools, and providing program staff to help water suppliers prepare comprehensive and useful water management plans, implement water conservation programs, and understand the requirements in the California Water Code that regulate Urban Water Management Planning.
DWR then reviews the submitted plans to make sure they have addressed the requirements identified in the California Water Code and submits a report to the State Legislature summarizing the status of the plans for each five-year cycle. The City’s last UWMP update was prepared in 2021.
City Council June 16, 2026
Resolution No. 26-33 – Adoption of 2025 UWMP AND WSCP Page No. 2 1 8
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The 2025 UWMP and WSCP provides DWR with a detailed summary of present and future water resources and demands within the City’s service area while accounting for a variety of conditions such as:
•Changes in natural hydrology, climate, and groundwater conditions •Regional, state, and federal regulations
•Regional supply conditions and water use variability
•Regional constraints on, or opportunities for, shared water resources •Local land use changes, development plans, and population growth •Water shortages, unforeseen tragedies, or natural disasters •Infrastructure improvements
•Project funding needs and opportunities
Specifically, the 2025 UWMP and WSCP consider water supply planning under normal conditions, single dry year conditions, and five consecutive dry years through at least 2040 and identifies or includes:
•Current and future water use
•Planning documents such as General Plans and Specific Plans •Potable and non-potable water supplies, water rights and contracts, water deliveries, restrictions on water availability, and other limitations •Water supply reliability under normal conditions and dry-year conditions •A Drought Risk Assessment (DRA) to review water supplies versus projected water use in a hypothetical five-year drought condition
•Development of an effective Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) that specifies opportunities to reduce demand and augment supplies under numerous, and even unpredictable, water shortage conditions.
Since the original Act's passage in 1983, one notable change affecting the previous 2015 and 2020 UWMP is the inclusion of Senate Bill 7 as part of the Seventh Extraordinary Session (SBx7- 7) and SB 1087. SBx7-7, or the Water Conservation Act of 2009, which is part of the Delta Action Plan that stemmed from the Governor’s goal to achieve a 20 percent statewide reduction in urban per capita water use by 2020 (20 by 2020). SBx7-7 requires each urban retail water supplier to develop urban water use targets to achieve the 20 percent by 2020 goal. Based on this comparison, the City met its 2020 target.
In addition to this process including the 20 percent by 2020 goal, there have been several small changes and additions to laws since the 2020 UWMP cycle. The most recent changes affecting the 2025 UWMP include:
•Water Losses: Retail Suppliers must indicate the quantity of water losses for five years by reporting data from their American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Loss Audits, discuss their progress toward compliance with the 2028 Water Loss Standard, City Council June 16, 2026
Resolution No. 26-33 – Adoption of 2025 UWMP AND WSCP Page No. 3 1 8
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and show whether they met the Water Loss Performance Standard enacted by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). (CWC § 10631 (d) (3) (C), SB 1414, 2019) •Updates to Demand Management Measures (DMMs): Retail Suppliers with an annual actual water use above their urban water use-objective (UWUO) must include a narrative describing additional DMMs the supplier plans to use to achieve its UWUO by January 1, 2027. (CWC § 10609.25, AB 1414, 2019
•Irrigation of Nonfunctional Turf: The use of potable water to irrigate Nonfunctional turf is to be phased out with a final end date of January 1, 2031. After which it will be prohibited with a few exceptions. (CWC § 10618.14 (a))
In March of 2026, per the City’s procurement policies, SA Associates, Inc., was selected to provide professional engineering services and to develop the 2025 UWMP and WSCP.
Fiscal Impact:
The development of the 2025 UWMP and WSCP is funded by the Water Enterprise fund.
Citizens Advised:
Notice of a Public Hearing was published on May 29, 2026 and June 5, 2026, in the Norwalk Patriot, at the three designated locations, and a Draft 2025 UWMP and WSCP was also posted to the City’s website for public access and review.
Strategic Plan 2023 Implementation:
N/A
Recommended Action:
Staff recommend City Council:
a.adopt Resolution No. 26-33, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NORWALK TO ADOPT AND SUBMIT TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES THE CITY’S 2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN AND 2025 WATER SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN, and
b.authorize the City Manager to submit the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan to the California Department of Water Resources.
Attachments:
1.Resolution No. 26-33
2.2025 UWMP and WSCP (Copy available on the City’s website at https://www.norwalk.org/city-hall/meeting-agendas/public-hearing-notifications )