TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Joe DeFrancesco, Interim Public Works Director
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Conduct Public Hearing and Consideration of Resolutions Adopting the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan (No Budget Impact) (Interim Public Works Director DeFrancesco).
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
A) CONDUCT PUBLIC HEARING
B) ADOPT RESOLUTION NOS. 26-0064 AND 26-0065
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council conduct a public hearing and adopt resolutions No. 26-0064 and 26-0065, approving the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan and authorizing staff to file the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and other agencies.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended actions.
BACKGROUND:
The Urban Water Management Planning Act (UWMP Act) requires that every urban water supplier providing water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000 customers or supplying more than 3,000 acre-feet of water per year, prepare an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). The UWMP must be updated and adopted every five years. The 2025 UWMP is due by July 1, 2026. A UWMP is required for a water supplier to be eligible for DWR-administered State grants and loans and drought assistance.
The 2025 UWMP updates the City’s 2020 UWMP and presents new data and analysis since 2020. The 2025 UWMP is a water planning document that describes existing and future supply reliability, forecasts future water uses, and presents demand management progress.
California Water Code Section 10632 also requires water suppliers to prepare a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP). The WSCP documents a supplier’s plans to manage and mitigate an actual water shortage should one occur due to drought or other impacts on water supplies. The WSCP is prepared as a standalone document and attached to the UWMP. The City’s 2020 WSCP has been updated as a part of the 2025 UWMP update.
In accordance with Section 10621(b) of the UWMP Act, staff notified the County of Los Angeles at least 60 days prior to the public hearing that the City would be updating its UWMP and WSCP. Additionally, staff coordinated the preparation of the City’s 2025 UWMP and WSCP with other appropriate agencies in the area, including other water suppliers, water management agencies, and other relevant public agencies.
In accordance with Section 10642 of the UWMP Act and Section 6066 of the Government Code, the staff published two newspaper notices of the June 16, 2026 public hearing on the draft 2025 UWMP and WSCP. Staff posted the draft 2025 UWMP and WSCP on the City website on May 28, 2026, and provided a printed copy at the front counter of the City’s main office for public review.
The City's public hearing on the 2025 UWMP and WSCP serves to consider public comment on all aspects of the 2025 Plans, to enable community input regarding the City's plan for projected demands, available supply, supply reliability, and demand management measures, and to consider any other relevant and appropriate matters related to the 2025 UWMP and WSCP.
DISCUSSION:
The supply and demand projections for the 2025 UWMP and WSCP were based on analysis of historical usage, recent trends, regulatory changes, and projections from the City’s Development Impact Fee Nexus Study, among other sources. The analysis shows that the City has sufficient supplies to meet demand under future “normal”, single-dry-year, and multiple-dry-year conditions.
The UWMP includes a reliability analysis that evaluates whether projected supplies can meet projected demands under varying conditions. Based on the City’s and its wholesaler’s planning assumptions, the analysis indicates that future supply is adequate to meet demand and that no water shortages are anticipated across the planning horizon. These findings rely heavily on the Metropolitan Water District’s 2025 UWMP, which anticipated meeting all imported water demands from its customers, including the West Basin Municipal Water District, the City’s wholesaler. The drought risk assessment also concludes the City is anticipated to be able to meet demand without shortages during an immediate five-year drought, were one to occur over the next five years.
If no substantial comments on the UWMP and WSCP draft are received at the public hearing, staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2025 UWMP and WSCP.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The Draft 2025 UWMP report was posted on the City’s website on May 28, 2026. In accordance with State law, a public hearing notification was published in The Beach Reporter on May 28, 2026, and June 4, 2026, inviting public oral and written comments at least two weeks prior to the Public Hearing, and emailed to local government agencies and other water suppliers in the area, indicating that the draft documents were available for public review.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 26-0064
2. Resolution No. 26-0065
3. Draft 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Draft Water Shortage Contingency Plan
4. UWMP and WSCP Presentation