Committee to Hear PWP’s Urban Water Management Plan as State Continues Tightening Water Use Rules

The Pasadena City Council’s Municipal Services Committee will deliberate Tuesday on a recommendation by the Pasadena Water and Power Department to hold a public hearing in June on the utility’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP). 

After a public hearing recommended for June 7, the plans may be approved by way of a City Council resolution. 

PWP prepared the 2020 UWMP as an urban water supplier to comply with the California Water Code and demonstrate its long-term water supply and resource planning. A PWP report for the City Council said the UWMP must be adopted by the city and submitted to the state Department of Water Resources by July 1. 

The UWMP describes the whole PWP supply service area, land use, water conservation and climate change impacts over a 20-year planning horizon. All the data under these components are integrated into the analysis of water supply and demand projections.  

The WSCP, on the other hand, details how PWP intends to act in case of an actual water shortage condition and provides pre-planned guidance for mitigating and managing the shortage, based on the city’s existing Water Waste Prohibitions and Water Supply Shortage Plans. 

The WSCP, along with established demand management measures, provide additional guidance on how to maintain an adequate water supply in the city to protect public health and safety.  

PWP said the adoption of the WSCP as a standalone document is new for the 2020 UWMP cycle. 

The utility relies on water supply consisting of about 39 percent local groundwater from the Raymond Basin in Pasadena and about 61 percent from purchased imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). PWP is one of 26 member agencies that gets water from MWD, a regional water wholesaler. 

The report said MWD, which sources water from the State Water Project and the Colorado River aqueduct, also provided their reliability assessment which was used in compiling the UWMP.  

Tuesday’s meeting of the Municipal Services Committee begins at 4 p.m. and can be viewed through http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and www.pasadenamedia.org. 

Public comments may be sent through www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment or by email to vflores@cityofpasadena.net.