10-04-2013 BPU RPT 09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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W A E R E N E R G Y RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: October 4, 2013 ITEM NO: 9 SUBJECT: SUPPORT OF THE BAY-DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN ISSUE: The item for Board of Public Utilities consideration is a recommendation that City Council support, in writing, the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities recommend that the City Council support, in writing, the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan. BACKGROUND: The Bay-Delta is a 550,000-acre estuary where the rivers of the Sierra Nevada merge before heading west to the San Francisco Bay. The Bay-Delta is vital to the California economy and California's agricultural belt in the Central Valley. However, the Bay-Delta is in a state of environmental stress due to the loss of wetlands habitat, invasive species, pesticide runoff, a depletion of native food supplies, pumping operations and other factors. Water supplies from Northern California that move across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta serve more than 25 million people from the Bay Area to the California-Mexico border. Although Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) is not a direct recipient of imported water, it does serve as a critical emergency supply for RPU and through the Western Municipal Water District is the water supply for portions of the City of Riverside and the broader Riverside region. State and federal agencies, via the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) process have worked for seven years toward developing a comprehensive package of ecosystem and water system improvements to address both current issues in the Bay-Delta and long-term threats to the state's water supplies. The BDCP represents an effort to comply with state and federal environmental laws through a cooperative effort to reverse the Bay-Delta's decline. Governor Jerry Brown and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell have agreed to a comprehensive set of actions outlined in the Administrative Draft of the BDCP that includes Bay-Delta water conveyance improvements to protect public water supplies, habitat restoration and enhanced conservation efforts. At the September 20, 2013 Board meeting, Western Municipal Water District, through General John Rossi and Board Member Tom Evans, made a presentation to the Board and asked for written support for the BDCP. The Board requested that staff prepare a written resolution for consideration at the next Board meeting, with a recommendation that City Council adopt a similar resolution. Western has indicated that one-written evidence of support from the City would be sufficient. Accordingly, the Board is now asked to recommend that the City support, in writing, the current BDCP planning process that would be used to educate local, state and federal officials regarding the importance of protecting this critical resource and the corresponding statewide water supplies.