Water Committee Special Meeting – February 9, 2021: Overview, Urban Water Plan, and Transfer Update
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Water Committee Special Meeting – February 9, 2021
The Water Committee of the City of Sacramento met in a special teleconference meeting on February 9, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. The meeting featured a welcome to new committee members, a special presentation introducing Jessica Law as the new Executive Director of the Water Forum, approval of the 2021 regular meeting schedule, nomination of a Vice Chair, and informational presentations on the water system, the Urban Water Management Plan, and the 2020/2021 water transfer program. The meeting concluded with a brief discussion of ratepayer assistance for water bills.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 – 2021 Regular Meeting Schedule: The committee unanimously approved the 2021 Regular Meeting Schedule for the Water Committee (File ID: 2021-00077). Motion by Councilmember Valenzuela, seconded by Councilmember Vang. Vote: all ayes. No public callers on this item.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were received on any agenda item. The clerk confirmed no callers for Items 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Discussion Items
- Introduction of Jessica Law, Executive Director of the Water Forum: Jessica Law, who started January 4, 2021, shared her background and the Water Forum’s three interim priorities: renegotiating the Water Forum 2.0 agreement (a ~3-year process), managing flow and operations on the Lower American River with the Bureau of Reclamation, and habitat restoration projects (e.g., Ansel Hoffman Park). Chair Harris praised her work and suggested she speak with Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis about the Water Forum’s formation. Committee members Valenzuela and Vang expressed enthusiasm and requested a joint learning session.
- Item 2 – Nomination and Selection of Vice Chair: Chair Harris nominated Councilmember Vang as Vice Chair for 2021. Motion seconded by Councilmember Valenzuela. Vote: all ayes. No public callers.
- Item 3 – Water System Overview and Urban Water Management Plan (Oral Report): Senior Engineer Brett Ewart presented an overview of the city’s potable water system, including three sources (American River, Sacramento River, groundwater), 1,600 miles of water main, 140,000 customers, and two treatment plants (Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant and the older 1924 facility). The city’s water demand peaks at 140–160 million gallons per day (MGD) for retail, plus up to 40 MGD for wholesale customers. The 2020 Urban Water Management Plan update must be submitted to the state by June 2021. Key metrics: gallons per capita per day (GPCD) has dropped well below the state’s 225 GPCD target; the city is at 99% meter installation (only River Park remaining); conservation rebates include ~3,800 smart irrigation controllers and nearly 12,000 toilet rebates; new programs target disadvantaged communities (toilet upgrade and leak-free repairs). Recycled water now serves the Sacramento Power Authority co-generation facility (~1,000 acre-feet per year). Staff noted that planning for future expansion of the surface water plant is underway (needed within ~15 years).
- Item 4 – 2020 and 2021 Water Transfer Update (Oral Report): Brett Ewart presented on the Groundwater Substitution Water Transfer program. In 2020, the region left 17,000 acre-feet in rivers, generating $4.4 million in revenue (city’s share: $2.1 million), reinvested into groundwater and conservation programs. The transfer kept an estimated 55–75 cubic feet per second (CFS) in the Lower American River. The Regional Water Authority recognized it as Project of the Year 2020. Due to dry conditions (50% of normal rainfall), staff proposed reinitiating a similar transfer for 2021, pending city council approval. A broader regional water bank concept (phase two, including governance) is being developed, with a not-to-exceed $190,000 commitment for the city.
- Discussion on Water Bill Assistance: Chair Harris raised a URAC committee proposal to use non-rate revenue (e.g., cell tower lease funds) to subsidize customers falling behind on water bills. Director Bill Busath reported that about $40,000–$70,000 annually is available, which would provide only ~$0.50 per month per enrolled customer; he recommended not using it. He noted that non-payment rates are normal, and the city has not shut off water or charged late fees during COVID. Federal relief packages may provide $700 million (nationwide) for water/sewer rate assistance, with ~$70 million for California. Councilmember Valenzuela confirmed that water shut-offs are not occurring for non-payment.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar (Item 1): Approved unanimously. The 2021 meeting schedule is set.
- Vice Chair (Item 2): Councilmember Vang elected Vice Chair for 2021 (unanimous).
- Water System & Urban Water Management Plan (Item 3): Received and filed. The 2020 Urban Water Management Plan will be brought to City Council in June 2021.
- Water Transfer Update (Item 4): Received and filed. Staff will return to City Council to seek approval for a 2021 groundwater substitution transfer.
- Water Bill Assistance: No formal action taken. Director Busath will provide additional information to the committee on rate assistance options and federal funding prospects.
- Meeting Adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Chair staff is ready when you are. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Welcome everybody to the Tuesday, February 9th meeting of the Water Committee of the City of Sacramento. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Madam Clerk, will you please call roll? Thank you, Councilmember Valenzuela. Here. Councilmember Vang. Here. And Chair Harris. I am here. Thank you very much. This is going to be an interesting meeting. It's largely informational. But we do have a couple of new faces on the committee, which I'm very excited about because both of them have demonstrated a real eagerness to learn about the water issues and also to recognize the importance of water to, of course, the city of Sacramento. And before we get started on the agenda, I'd like to ask Bill Buffets, our director of utilities, to say a few words to our incoming members here on the water committee. Thank you, Councilmember Harris. I mostly want to echo Councilmember Harris's comments. We welcome Council of Valenzuela and Vang, and want to tell you how much we appreciate your participation, your willingness to participate in this committee. We highly value this committee and the access that it gives us to a small number of council members to kind of get into the weeds a little bit about our issues and to seek understanding and hopefully support for our initiatives and projects. And so mostly I just want to say thank you for your willingness to participate and welcome. Welcome to the committee. Great, thank you, Bill. You know, this subject matter, as I've explained to both of our new council members participating, is deep and complex. It can get a little technical or wonky, if you will, at times. But you know, as we enter this period of climate change, our response to water security availability, uh, you know, the social justice issues of clean water for all, and just uh guaranteed reliability, you know, within our network is really important work. To me, it's some of the most satisfying work I've done as a council member to work on water issues. Uh, you know, as everybody knows, this state was founded upon water wars. We're not an inherently wet state. We have you know a real dry area with most of our population. And so there have always been pressures on how to manage water, how to work with our agriculture because we provide 25% of the fresh fruits and vegetables to the entire country. How we manage our water is essential to uh the economic well-being of our region as well. So good stuff, important stuff, and uh really glad to have you two, really. I mean it. Okay, uh moving along. We do have a special presentation. And I don't know, did staff want to to introduce uh Ms. Law or can I just do that? Did somebody have a presentation before she speaks? No, I think you can go ahead uh and introduce uh uh Jessica. Okay, great. Well, Jessica, welcome. So you're gonna be the new director of the water forum, which uh maybe you can speak a little bit to the history of the water forum because uh I think that would be valuable, but we're all very excited to have you on board. Uh this is this is going to be I think very valuable moving forward, and we just wanted to extend a very strong welcome to you here on the water committee. Thank you, Councilmember Harris. Good morning, Councilmember. Oh, it's afternoon, actually. Good afternoon, Councilmember Bang and Councilmember Valenzuela. Um, this is uh a great opportunity. I'm so glad that we have the chance to speak and to talk a little bit about the water forum and just water policy topics in general.
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