Title
Receive a report from Office of Emergency Services on the status of drought related impacts in Monterey County and the County of Monterey's water conservation efforts.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive a report from Office of Emergency Services on the status of drought related impacts in Monterey County and the County of Monterey's water conservation efforts.
SUMMARY:
This report describes the activities of various County departments and the Inter-Agency Drought Task Force in response to the current drought, provides information on the current status of the drought in Monterey County, and describes the County's efforts over the last year in regards to water conservation efforts. In addition, representatives from the Monterey County Farm Bureau and Growers-Shipper Association of Central California will present farming conservation practices overview. The National Weather Service will provide a climate forecast for the 2015 winter-summer season.
DISCUSSION:
On January 17, 2014, with California facing the driest year in recorded history, the Governor proclaimed a State of Emergency, and called upon all Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent. The Governor also established a State Drought Task Force consisting of key state agencies, led by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), to carry out advanced strategic planning efforts, provide status reports, and to work with counties and others, to identify drought related issues and assistance programs to support those impacted. Knowing that a prolonged drought could have economic and social impacts, and may impact water quality/quantity, food and agriculture Monterey County formed a multi-agency drought task force to ensure that information on water systems at risk and strategies for conservation for shared between all stakeholders.
Monterey County is still part of the 25% of the State in the most extreme drought condition. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared 54 counties, including Monterey County, as a primary natural disaster area due to drought, which made emergency loans available to ranchers and farmers in 2014.
In response to the State emergency, the County Administrative Office has convened a staff level internal drought task force, which includes representatives from the following departments: County Administrative Office; Water Resources Agency (WRA); Health; Resource Management Agency (RMA); Parks; Social Services; and Agricultural Commissioner. To date the task force has been focused on sharing information on current and potential drought impacts, anticipating County program and service needs, and providing information and resource tools to the public related to programs, services and conservation. One of the efforts developed is a webpage entitled; Drought 2015: "Dealing with Drought: Making water conservation a Monterey County way of life", which is dedicated to the impact of drought and water conservation information for county employees, businesses and citizens. The webpage also links to various state and federal resource sites to connect users with drought status information, grant availability and tools for local governments. The website can be found at www.co.monterey.ca.us/drought <http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/drought>.
Information on the current Monterey County drought status report are included in Exhibit A.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
External Agencies: Cal OES, California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA); California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), CalFire; California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), California Volunteers, the California Endowment. Local key agencies include the Monterey County Farm Bureau; Monterey Peninsula Water District; Growers -Shippers Association; Pajaro Valley Water Agency; California American Water; and California Water Service Company. Additionally, the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Office of the National Weather Service is a key partner on both the state and local task forces, as is the CalFire San Benito Monterey Unit Chief and Fire Warden.
Internal Departments/Agencies: Office of Emergency Services; CAO-IGLA; WRA; RMA; Health; Parks; Social Services; and Agricultural Commissioner.
FINANCING:
There is no impact to the general fund related to receipt of this report.
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Prepared by: Sherrie L. Collins, Emergency Services Manager x1901
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Approved by: Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant CAO x1901
Attachments:
Exhibit A Monterey County Drought Status Report 2015