The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency will hold a public meeting via Zoom to inform residents of the Water Shortage Contingency Plan and gather community input on Jan. 28 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The contingency plan is discussed with the public and updated every five years, according to Gary Martin, SCV Water board president. He added the plan is part of the overall water-management plan.
“The goal of the meeting is to gather input from the public in case action is needed to be taken if there is a water shortage,” Martin said. “If there’s a drought or an emergency which leads to a water shortage, we might have to take action to reserve water and that action could impact the community.”
After public input is gathered, a secondary public hearing is scheduled which outlines the plan to community members and is then put up for adoption by the board.
“The draft plan will be available for review and comment in March,” Matt Dickens, sustainability manager for SCV Water, wrote in an email. “When those comments are incorporated, a final report will be issued in April and a public hearing held for adoption. Public input is welcome at any step in the process. Additionally, the plan may be updated in the future and the agency would seek public input throughout that process, as well.”
The workshop will address requirements from the contingency plan, which include assessing the reliability of water supplies, developing annual assessment procedures and monitoring reporting systems, creating shortage response actions, establishing communications protocols, building a compliance and enforcement program and evaluating financial, material and resource impacts.
“We’re here to serve the community,” Martin said. “Whatever actions are taken will directly impact the community so not only is it important for them to know how they could be impacted, it’s important to hear how the community would feel if they’re impacted.”
The contingency plan fulfills a requirement set by the California Department of Water Resources.The state requires local agencies to have a plan set, and updated every five years, to ensure adequate water supplies are available.
“We can’t wait until we are in a critical water shortage situation to decide what to do,” Dickens said. “This plan will thoroughly evaluate all options and allow us to act quickly when the time comes.”
The Zoom meeting will be held Jan. 28 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Community members are welcome to join at https://bit.ly/3o9qRJc with the Zoom Meeting ID 948 5064 6389 and passcode 901257.
