California Water Commission Meeting and Drought Expert Panel

• California Water Commission
• Sacramento, CA

Commission Meeting to Include Expert Panel on Drought Preparedness and Response, State Water Project Briefing on Operational Flexibility

The California Water Commission will hold a meeting on Wednesday, February 15 in Sacramento. The meeting is open to the public and will also be live-streamed online. Agenda items include a panel of experts who will explore long-term drought preparedness and response, a briefing on maintaining the State Water Project’s operational flexibility, and an informational overview of the Big Notch Project.

California Water Commission meeting
When: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 15
Where: California Natural Resources Building, 715 P Street, Sacramento, 95814
Info: (916) 873-5774, www.cwc.ca.gov
The meeting will be live-streamed at https://www.water-ca.com/.
To comment remotely, Zoom login information can be found on the public participation guide.

Drought Expert Panel – Preparedness and Response Strategies

In support of Water Resilience Portfolio Action 26.3, the Commission is engaging experts, interested parties, and the public in discussions about strategies to protect communities and fish and wildlife in the event of long-term drought. This month’s panel will cover practitioner and policy perspectives on implementation of drought preparedness and response strategies. The panel will include:

• Heather Cooley, Director of Research at the Pacific Institute.
• Jeffrey Mount, Senior Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.
• James Sarmento, Executive Director of Cultural Resources for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
• Elizabeth Salomone, General Manager of the Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District and Association of California Water Agencies Region 1 Board Member.
• David W. Pedersen, P.E., General Manager of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
• Tom Butler, Vice President of the Sutter Basin Corporation and California Rice Commission, California Rice Producers Chairman and Executive Committee member.

More information on the Commission’s work to develop strategies to protect communities and fish and wildlife in the event of long-term drought can be found at cwc.ca.gov/Water-Resilience-Portfolio.

State Water Project Briefing: Maintaining Operational Flexibility

At this meeting, Department of Water Resources (DWR) staff will brief the Commission on how it works to maintain operational flexibility of the State Water Project (SWP), including dealing with drought and flood at the same time, the limiting factors to system flexibility, and the challenges faced by operators that reduce its flexibility. Presenters include:

• SWP Deputy Director Ted Craddock, who will offer opening remarks.
• SWP Assistant Deputy Director John Yarbrough, who will discuss the ability of the SWP to manage through drought and flood and how DWR is addressing the project’s operational flexibility.
• Los Angeles County Works Deputy Director Keith Lilley, who will explain how his department harvested and stored excess water during the January storms.

For more on the State Water Project Annual Review, visit https://cwc.ca.gov/Programs-and-Topics.

Resolutions of Necessity for the Big Notch Project

The Commission will also hear evidence in support of Resolutions of Necessity (RONs) for the Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project. Also known as the Big Notch Project, this is a 30,000-acre floodplain habitat restoration and fish passage project in the Yolo Bypass in Yolo County. DWR cannot commence an eminent domain proceeding unless the Commission first adopts an RON. At this meeting, DWR staff will present an overview of the Big Notch Project, including its goals and impacts on SWP operations, as well as information regarding the specific properties listed on the agenda. No action will be taken to adopt RONs for these properties at this meeting.

For more information on the Commission’s role in eminent domain proceedings, visit https://cwc.ca.gov/Programs-and-Topics.

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The nine-member California Water Commission uses its public forum to explore water management issues from multiple perspectives and to formulate recommendations to advise the director of the California Department of Water Resources, and as appropriate, the California Natural Resources Agency, the Governor and the California State Legislature on ways to improve water planning and management in response to California’s changing hydrology. As required by Water Code section 165, the Commission conducts an annual review of the construction and operation of the State Water Project. For more information regarding the California Water Commission, visit cwc.ca.gov.