Public Works Agency
www.santa-ana.org/pw
Item # 21
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
May 19, 2026
TOPIC: Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan
AGENDA TITLE
Public Hearing - Resolutions Approving the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
Legal notice published in the OC Reporter on May 4, 2026 and May 11, 2026.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Adopt a resolution approving the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XXX entitled A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ADOPTING THE 2025 URBAN WATER
MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE CITY OF SANTA ANA
2. Adopt a resolution approving the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XXX entitled A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ADOPTING THE 2025 WATER SHORTAGE
CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR THE CITY OF SANTA ANA
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
DISCUSSION
The City of Santa Ana, as an urban water supplier, is required under the Urban Water Management Plan Act of 1983 (Act) to update and submit an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) every five years (Exhibit 1). UWMPs are comprehensive documents that present an evaluation of a water supplier’s long-term water supply reliability. The UWMP also includes an updated 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) designed to prepare for, and respond to, water shortages (Exhibit 2).
Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan May 19, 2026
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The City coordinated the preparation of the 2025 UWMP and 2025 WSCP with local and regional entities, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MET), the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), and the Orange County Water District (OCWD), along with other water agencies to provide valuable, regionally consistent data for the analyses prepared in the UWMP and WSCP. Overall, the UWMP confirms that water supplies for Santa Ana are sufficient and well managed.
As a result, Santa Ana is projected to meet full-service water demands from 2026 through 2050 under all three evaluated conditions: normal years, single dry year, and five consecutive dry year conditions.
The 2025 UWMP provides an assessment of the present and future water supply sources and demands within the City’s service area. It presents an update to the 2020 UWMP on the City’s water resource needs, water-use efficiency programs, water reliability assessment, and strategies to mitigate water shortage conditions. The 2025 UWMP contains all elements to meet compliance of the new requirements of the Act, as amended since 2020.
The WSCP is a strategic planning document designed to prepare for and respond to water shortages. It provides the steps and water shortage response actions to be taken in times of water shortage conditions. The WSCP has prescriptive elements, such as an analysis of water supply reliability, the water shortage response actions for each of the six standard water shortage levels, an estimate of potential to close supply gap for each measure, protocols and procedures to communicate identified actions for any current or predicted water shortage conditions, procedures for an Annual Assessment, monitoring and reporting requirements to determine customer compliance, and reevaluation and improvement procedures for evaluating the WSCP. This level of detailed planning and preparation is intended to help maintain reliable supplies and reduce the impacts of supply interruptions. Although an appendix to the UWMP, DWR requires the WSCP be treated as a stand-alone document with its own resolution and adoption.
As part of the existing agreement for programs and services with the MWDOC, the City elected to utilize a MWDOC-led team of regionally-focused consultants to assist in the preparation of the 2025 UWMP. This approach ensured that all requirements of the plans were met in a manner consistent with other water suppliers in Orange County.
The final draft of the plans and notices were sent to officials at the County of Orange, the City of Garden Grove, and the City of Orange, in accordance with the Act. Copies of the 2025 UWMP and 2025 WSCP are available for review in the City Clerk’s Office, at the Public Works Counter in City Hall, and on the City’s website. Staff recommends the adoption of the resolutions approving the final draft of the City’s 2025 UWMP (Exhibit 3) and the 2025 WSCP (Exhibit 4).
Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan May 19, 2026
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with the action. In accordance with Section 15282 of the CEQA Guidelines, preparation and adoption of urban water management plans are statutorily exempt from further environmental review.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the action.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. 2025 Urban Water Management Plan
2. 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
3. Resolution to Adopt the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan Update
4. Resolution to Adopt the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan Submitted By: Rodolfo Rosas, P. E., Acting Executive Director of Public Works Agency Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager