Ever wondered how water agencies know if they will have enough
water to serve their communities in the future? Well, one of the
ways to help plan for sufficient future water supplies is
through the preparation of a document called the Urban Water
Management Plan. Every five years, California law requires all
water providers that serve more than 3,000 connections or supply
more than 3,000 acre-feet of water roughly 1 billon gallons per
year to perform an evaluation and prepare an Urban Water
Management Plan. The main purposes are for long-term water
resource planning and to ensure adequate supplies are available
for current and planned future demand. Demonstrating than an
agency is meeting specified water conservation measures is an
important component. Failure to produce an acceptable plan
jeopardizes an agency's ability to receive state grants.
Locally, the Scotts Valley Water District, San Lorenzo Valley
Water District, Santa Cruz Water Department, Soquel Creek Water
District and the Watsonville Water Depar