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Feb 13, 2020 Public Workshop – Prop 1 DAC

The San Francisco Bay Area Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Coordinating Committee will be hosting a Needs Assessment Findings Workshop through the Disadvantaged Communities and Tribal Involvement Program (DACTIP) on February 13th, 2020 from 9AM to 1PM.  The workshop will be held in the 2nd Floor O’Shaughnessy Conference Room at 525 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94102.

This public workshop will be used to discuss findings from needs assessments conducted by outreach partner organizations throughout the nine Bay Area counties included in the IRWM region and to set regional planning priorities and themes to best respond to the needs of its communities.  We highly encourage any CC members to attend to share their perspectives and join the conversation, especially those with outreach partner organizations in their service area. The following is a list of the outreach partner organizations:

  1. Friends of Sausal Creek (Oakland Fruitvale Neighborhood)
  2. Marin County Community Development Agency (Dillon Beach & Pt. Reyes Station)
  3. Multicultural Center of Marin (San Rafael Canal District)
  4. Shore Up Marin City (Marin City)
  5. The Watershed Project (Richmond, San Pablo, El Sobrante)
  6. Sonoma Ecology Center & Daily Acts (Petaluma, Penngrove, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Rodgers Creek, & The Springs)
  7. Brower, Dellums Institute for Sustainable Policy Studies and Action (Sobrante Park, Columbia Gardens, & Brookfield Village)
  8. Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice (Bayview Hunters Point)
  9. Nuestra Casa (East Palo Alto)
  10. Contra Costa Resource Conservation District (Antioch, Pittsburg, & Bay Point)
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2019 Bay Area IRWM Plan Update

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.

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Bay Area IRWM Prop 1 Grant Recommendations

On July 22, 2019, the Bay Area IRWM Coordinating Committee approved the recommendation of eight projects to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for Proposition 1 Implementation Grant funding.  The recommendations came from the IRWM working groups (Planning and Process Committee and Project Screening Committee) after months of guideline review, proposal solicitation, and review of project proposals.

A total of twenty-seven projects were evaluated and ranked by twelve of the fourteen-member Project Screening Committee. Though criteria were established by DWR ahead of time, the process was a significant effort with proposals weighing in at a minimum of nine pages each, not including additional attachments.

In the end, eight projects were recommended in a funding request to DWR. This includes projects in each of the four subregions (north, south, east, west) as well as regional projects benefiting the whole of the Bay Area.  Total funding request for this grant cycle is $22,750,000, including grant administration.

A pre-application has been submitted to DWR and a follow-up workshop is scheduled for August 23, 2019. DWR will then review all grant applications and determine project funding across the state.

Projects recommended for funding in the San Francisco Bay Area include:

Project Number Project Title Sponsor Grant Award
1 Grant Administration Association of Bay Area Govenments $994,550
2 RD1 System Fish Passage Improvements Alameda County Water District (ACWD) $3,346,992
3 Lower Walnut Creek Restoration Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District $1,434,425
4 River Oaks Stormwater Capture Project City of San José $3,203,550
5 NBWRP Phase 2 North Bay Water Reuse Authority $4,061,270
6 Calistoga Water and Habitat Project City of Calistoga and Napa County Resource Conservation District $2,028,808
7 San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection, Ecosystem Restoration, and Recreation Project San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority $2,964,479
8 Bay Area Regional Water Conservation East Bay Municipal Utility District $4,177,875
9 San Francisco Zoo Recycled Water Pipeline Project San Francisco Public Utilities Commission $538,051