The San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA) Region led by the Coordinating Committee (CC) is preparing the 2019 Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Plan Update. The CC is preparing the update to meet the new requirements outlined in the Department of Water Resources (DWR) 2016 updated standards for Integrated Regional Water Management Plans (IRWMPs), and maintain funding eligibility.
The file (100 MB) has changes tracked and is available for download at the following link: https://sfpuc.sharefile.com/d-s0d75d98635b4a9f9
Also click here for a spreadsheet that shows where each DWR standard is met in the current draft Plan. Each new requirement is shaded in peach to make it easier for reviewers to determine where changes were made. The Plan Appendices are the same as those included in the 2013 Plan with the exception of Appendix F (new projects added to the Plan) and Appendix G (Storm Water Resource Plans). Those two appendices can be found here.
Please send all questions or comments to Michelle Novotny at SFPUC (mnovotny@sfwater.org) no later than 5pm on Friday, October 11. We anticipate that the Coordinating Committee will adopt the final Plan at its meeting on October 28, 2019.
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Planning
California’s Integrated Regional Water Management Act of 2002 set forth a new way of thinking about water resource planning by promoting IRWMPs to increase collaboration between local agencies. The goal is to ensure sustainable water uses, reliable water supplies, better water quality, environmental stewardship, efficient urban development, protection of agriculture, and a stronger regional economy. Administered by DWR, the State IRWM Program encourages creation of Regional Water Management Groups (RWMGs) and the use of collaborative processes to develop IRWMPs which target regional water resource issues. DWR supports and promotes the integrated regional planning work of RWMGs by providing funding through competitive grants.
Region Background
The IRWM Plan is an outgrowth of a collaborative process that began in 2004, when regional and local associations, agencies, groups, and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area signed a Letter of Mutual Understandings (LOMU) to develop an IRWM Plan for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. To facilitate development of the 2006 Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (2006 Plan), the participants agreed to organize into four Functional Areas (FA):
- Water Supply & Water Quality,
- Wastewater & Recycled Water,
- Flood Protection & Stormwater Management, and
- Watershed Management & Habitat Protection and Restoration.
Representatives from agencies that represented the FAs formed a Technical Coordinating Committee which served as the original governing body and provided oversight for the IRWMP process. In January 2007, following completion of 2006 Plan, this group became known as the San Francisco Bay Area IRWMP Coordinating Committee (CC).
During the development of the Region Acceptance Process (RAP) in 2009, the CC developed an additional organizational structure based on demographic and geographic divisions in order to address the challenges of integrated management at the scale of the San Francisco Bay Area IRWM Region (Bay Area Region or Region). Four Subregions were defined: East, West, South, and North. The Subregions have subsequently become the focal points for outreach and project solicitation and integration in the IRWMP. The CC still includes representatives from the FAs and the FAs continue to address IRWM issues as needed.
