Agenda Item #16.1
For Council Meeting of: June 02, 2026
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER BURKE, DIRECTOR, SANTA ROSA WATER
SUBJECT: 2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN AND 2025 WATER
SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN
AGENDA ACTION: PUBLIC HEARING
RECOMMENDATION
The Board of Public Utilities and Santa Rosa Water recommend that the Council hold a public hearing to receive comments on the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Adoption of these documents will be considered at the June 16, 2026 City Council meeting. This item has no impact on current fiscal year budget.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In conformance with the California Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act), the City of Santa Rosa has prepared its 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and its 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan (Shortage Plan). The Council will be reviewing the 2025 UWMP and 2025 Shortage Plan in a public hearing per the requirements of the Act.
GOAL
This item relates to Council Goals #2 and #3 – Invest in the Development and Maintenance of the City's Infrastructure and Promote Citywide Economic Development – as the plan s identify citywide water supply and demand needs and management objectives through 2050, in support of, and in alignment with, the City of Santa Rosa’s General Plan.
BACKGROUND/PRIOR COUNCIL REVIEW
The Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act) requires every urban water supplier that provides water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000 connections or supplies more than 3,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) of water to adopt and submit an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) every five years.
2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN AND 2025 WATER
SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN
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The Act requires specific information to be included in the UWMP and requires the urban water supplier to hold a public hearing to review and adopt the UWMP. The d eadline for water suppliers to submit their adopted 2025 UWMP is July 1, 2026.
The City is an urban supplier of water for approximately 54,000 connections supplying approximately 17,000 AFY of water and is therefore required to comply with the Act. The City’s previous UWMP was the 2020 UWMP, which was adopted by the City Council in June 2021.
The Act also includes a requirement to prepare a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (Shortage Plan), which details how a water supplier plans to respond to water shortage levels ranging from up to 10 percent to over 50 percent. The Act requires sp ecific information to be included in the Shortage Plan and requires the urban water supplier to hold a public hearing to review and adopt the Shortage Plan. The deadline for water suppliers to submit their adopted 2025 Shortage Plan is July 1, 2026. The City’s previous Shortage Plan was the 2020 Shortage Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in June 2021, and re-adopted with modifications in November 2021.
ANALYSIS
The City’s 2025 UWMP includes details about planned water supplies and projected demands for Santa Rosa and projected demands through 2050 during an average water year, a single dry year, and dry five-year periods; demand management program details; and information about our regional water supply.
The City’s 2025 UWMP includes a demand an alysis based on population and employment projections, known and projected development and land use changes, water use trends by all customer sectors, non-revenue water (e.g., firefighting, line flushing, and losses from the distribution system), and the p otential impacts of climate change. It also incorporates estimated passive water savings from plumbing codes and water conservation regulations and ordinances. The analysis resulted in a projected total water demand of 21,403 acre-feet (AF) in 2050.
Santa Rosa has three existing and planned sources of water: entitlement of 29,100 AFY from the Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) pursuant to the Restructured Agreement for Water Supply, which was executed in 2006; 2,300 to 4,100 AFY of local groundwater supply; and 140 AFY of recycled water supply.
The 2025 UWMP concludes that sufficient water supplies will be available to meet the projected water demands for Santa Rosa through 2050 during normal water years, single dry year conditions equivalent to the driest year on record (1977) and multiple dry years during dry five -year periods equivalent to the driest five -year period on record (1987 - 1991).
2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN AND 2025 WATER
SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN
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The 2025 UWMP also concludes that sufficient water supplies would be available to meet estimated “uncon strained” (normal) water demands for the immediate five -year period (2026-2030) if hydrologic conditions were equivalent to the driest five -year period on record (1987-1991).
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the City’s General Fund or the Water Department Enterprise Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to California Water Code section 10652, the preparation and adoption of an Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including implementation of actions taken pursuant to such plans.
In addition, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378, the recommended action is not a “project” subject to CEQA because it does not have the potential to result in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. In the alternative, the recommended action is exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the action may have a significant effect on the environment.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On February 11, 2026, t he Water Conservation Subcommittee of the Board of Public Utilities reviewed and provided input on the development of the 2025 UWMP and the 2025 Shortage Plan.
On May 21, 2026, the Board of Public Utilities approved a recommendation to Council to hold a public hearing and adopt these plans.
NOTIFICATION
A bill insert was included in the February water bills advertising the upcoming public review period of the 2025 UWMP and the 2025 Shortage Plan . During the public review period, all documentation was available on the dedicated City webpage srcity.org/uwmp, and hard copies of the draft plans were available at specified public counters at City Hall and Municipal Services Center South.
Public hearing notices were published on May 6, 2026 and May 17, 2026 in the Press Democrat.
2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN AND 2025 WATER
SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN
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ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Draft 2025 Urban Water Management Plan Attachment 2 – Draft 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan Attachment 3 – Draft Resolution
PRESENTER(S)
Claire Nordlie, Senior Water Resources Planner