March 27, 2024
Water Subcommittee
Rialto Draft Drought Contingency Plan
DCP Background & Purpose
Draft DCP Overview
DCP Next Steps
Agenda
WaterSMART Drought Response Program
• USBR provides financial assistance for activities that help prepare for and respond to drought.
• Program funding is allocated for:
• Drought Contingency Planning
• Drought Resiliency Projects
• Increase reliability of supplies
• Improve water management
• Provide benefits for fish, wildlife and the environment • Emergency Response Actions
USBR Program Overview
3 The City of Rialto
received a grant to
prepare a Drought
Contingency Plan
Drought Contingency Planning
• Drought Contingency Plans are structured to address these questions:
• How will we recognize the next drought in the early stages? • How will drought affect us?
• How can we protect ourselves from the next drought?
USBR Program Overview
4 Drought Contingency Planning
USBR Program Overview
5 1. Introduction
• Purpose, Goals
• Approach
• Historical
Drought
• Agency
Overview
• Supply &
Demand
2. Drought
Monitoring
• Drought Indices
• Shortage
Stages
3. Response
Actions
• Related to
Shortage
Stages
4. Vulnerability
Assessment
• Risks and
Impacts of
Drought on
critical
resources
• Future
Conditions
• Drive mitigation
actions
5. Mitigation
Actions
• Tool to
prioritize
actions
• List of Actions
• Roles
• Responsibilities
• Resources
6. Operational
and
Administrative
Framework
7. Plan Update
Process
• Plan Evaluation
• Future Updates
Drought Task Force
• Composed of multiple agencies in the region to provide input on each element of the DCP
• City of Rialto Staff
• Rialto Water Services/Veolia
• San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District
• West Valley Water District
• Fontana Water Company
• City of Colton
Rialto DCP
6 Drought Task Force
• DCP process included 7 Workshops
Rialto DCP
7 DROUGHT
MONITORING
& RESPONSE
VULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT
MITIGATION
ACTIONS
DRAFT DCP
REVIEW
TASK FORCE
KICKOFF
DROUGHT
RESPONSE 2
EDUCATION &
ENGAGEMENT
Draft DCP Overview
Rialto Drought Contingency Plan
8 Plan
Area
Water Supply Portfolios in the Plan Area
10 Drought Monitoring
• The State already requires water suppliers to do an Annual Water Supply & Demand Assessment (AWSDA) to assess whether a supply shortage may occur in the coming year if drought conditions occur, and to determine which Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) stage and actions to implement. 11 INFO
1 SUPPLY ASSESSMENT ACTIONS
Provide
information about
the water system
being assessed
DEMAND
2 Estimate water
demands for the
coming year
3 Estimate water
supplies available
from each source
for the coming
year
4 Compare supplies
to demands to
determine whether
a supply shortage
may occur, and at
what percent (or
stage)
5 Determine which
WSCP stage and
actions to
implement to close
the projected gap,
if any
Drought Response Actions
• Reviewed stages and response actions for Rialto, WVWD, FUWC, and Colton WSCPs
• Generally, each agency implements the same or very similar response actions, but the stage in which each action is implemented may differ. 12 Normal
Conditions 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% >50%
Rialto Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
WVWD Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
FUWC Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6
Colton Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
Response Actions
• Performed a detailed analysis of Rialto’s current response actions in the WSCP
• Recommendations for Rialto to consider incorporating or enhancing as part of the next WSCP update:
• Communication & Outreach to better engage City residents on shortage stages and actions they can take to help respond to drought conditions • Rebates to reduce water use
• Flexible language to provide the City Manager or their designee flexibility to respond and comply with executive orders and state mandates
• State’s six standard shortage stages corresponding to 10% shortage intervals 13 Education & Engagement Plan
The Education and Engagement Plan aims
to effectively engage and inform the
community about Rialto’s DCP, focusing on
the six stages of water shortage and
associated drought response actions. The
goal is to promote water conservation,
raise awareness about the severity of the
drought, and guide residents through the
necessary measures to mitigate its impact.
This plan was developed using the input
received during Drought Task Force
Workshop #4, which focused on Drought
Communication.
14 Vulnerability Assessment
• Analyzed each supply source:
• Bunker Hill subbasin
• Lytle Creek subbasin
• Rialto-Colton Basin
• Riverside North Basin
• Lytle Creek Surface Water
• Imported Water
• Other / All
• Based on
• Task Force Vulnerability Assessment Workshop
• 2020 IRUWMP
• Other Regional Documents
• Other Known Issues
15 CLIMATE CHANGE
VULNERABILITY CATEGORIES
EXTENDED DROUGHT
INFRASTRUCTURE
ADMINISTRATIVE, REGULATORY
& ENVIRONMENTAL
WATER QUALITY
Vulnerability Assessment
16 Likelihood
Low Vulnerability could occur once every 10 years
Moderate Vulnerability could occur at least 3 times every 10 years
High Vulnerability could occur at least 5 or more times every 10 years
Impact
Low
If the vulnerability were to occur, it would minimally
impact the water supply and/or ability to operate.
Agencies could absorb impacts within existing
operations.
Moderate
If the vulnerability were to occur, it would noticeably impact the water supply and/or ability to operate.
Agencies could adapt with existing resources relatively quickly.
High
If the vulnerability were to occur, it would significantly impact the water supply and/or ability to operate.
Adaptation could have a significant cost or require
substantial time to implement.
Mitigation Actions
• Organized into
• Projects: existing capital improvement project that is well defined • Opportunities: high-level concept that would require additional exploration to assess feasibility and define an implement approach
• Ongoing Actions: currently occurring actions or programs that are planned to continue
• Prioritized based on the highest risk score of the vulnerabilities mitigated 17 34 35
40 0
5 10
15 20
25 30
35 40
45 1 2 3
No. of Mitigation Actions
Mitigation Action Priority
Project Opportunity Ongoing Action Total Number of Actions Mitigation Actions
• Construct groundwater recharge projects, where and when possible, particularly on the west side of the San Bernardino Valley region (i.e Cactus Recharge Basins)
• Maintain and expand collaboration and communication among agencies for shared water resources.
• Construct additional wells for increased supply reliability in the Bunker Hill subbasin for use when rights within the Rialto-Colton Basin are reduced and when Rialto-Colton Basin/Lytle Creek subbasin wells are impacted by water quality issues.
• Construct well-specific treatment, as required, to maintain existing supply assets.
18 KEY TAKEAWAYS: PRIORITY 1 MITIGATION ACTIONS
Operational & Administrative Framework
19 • Ongoing conversations expected to continue at the regional level • Rialto Basin Groundwater Council
• Basin Technical Advisory Committee (BTAC)
• San Bernardino Basin Optimization Program
• Each agency will complete their own Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment and their respective governing bodies will enact the appropriate WSCP response actions
• Each agency will implement its own mitigation actions/projects, and collaborate on regional projects as appropriate
• DCP may be updated every five years, after the completion of future Integrated Regional Urban Water Management Plans (IRUWMP) Grant Funding Opportunities
• DCP includes a list of Federal and
State grant programs that may be
applicable to DCP projects
• USBR WaterSMART Drought
Resiliency Projects grant program
awards extra points for projects
that are part of a DCP
20 NEXT STEPS
15 1.Incorporate comments and
prepare Final DCP
2.Submit the Final DCP to USBR
3.Post the DCP on the City’s
website per grant requirements
22 Thank You!