Water Resources Development and Management Plan

Water Resources Development 
and Management Plan

Union Valley Reservoir (Courtesy of Yung-Hsin Sun)

Overview

The Water Resource Development and Management Plan (WRDMP) is the Agency’s cornerstone document for the Agency with the established goals, principles, strategies and actions to fulfill its charges provided by the 1959 El Dorado County Water Agency Act (Act). Section 96-103 of the 1959 Act sets an expectation for the Agency.  

"The Legislature hereby finds that water problems in the county require county-wide water conservation, flood control and development of water resources;  that these problems are not general or state-wide; that the county for many years has had made investigations and engineering surveys of the county’s water resources by private, public and United States engineers; that county water districts, municipalities, and water conservation districts now exist within portions of the county, have acquired property and works, developed a limited water supply, and have incurred indebtedness, but have been and are unable alone to economically develop an adequate water supply and control the floods of said county and for such reason it is necessary to have a political entity coextensive with the geographical limits of the entire county; that the county cannot be supplied with water from a common source or by a common system of works; that investigation having shown conditions in said county to be peculiar to it. It is, therefore, hereby declared that a general law cannot be made applicable to said county and that the enactment of this special law is necessary for the conservation, development, control and use of said water for the public good and for the protection of life and property therein.”

The WRDMP is a countywide water plan with clear goals, strategies, and implementation programs that reflect an integrated water management approach to align the policies and actions of local agencies and entities, especially for land use policy as described in the General Plan of the County of El Dorado. The Resource Management Strategies and management actions to address the identified water resource-related challenges through collective implementation by parties in El Dorado County commensurate with their corresponding role and responsibilities. The Agency’s actions consistent with the charges provided by the Act are captured in its five programs, guided by the Board-adopted policies and guidance for WRDMP implementation. The WRDMP is subject to a 5-year update in years ending in 4 and 9. Referenced geospatial information is available at El Dorado Water Agency’s GIS Data Portal.

Water Resources Management Challenges

2024 Water Resources Development and Management Plan (WRDMP24)

Read the WRDMP24 (October 21, 2024; [(PDF, 14MB)Low Res(PDF, 14MB) ], [High Res(PDF, 85MB) ])

The WRDMP24 affirms the Agency’s cautious optimism about our water future with the same forward-thinking and collaborative approach to align and encourage mutual support among partners in El Dorado County and beyond. In addition to documenting the accomplishments in the past five years, the RMS and management actions were updated to address changed conditions, and the Agency’s five programs were also refined accordingly. 

Advisory Group Meetings

The Agency convened a Plan Advisory Group to assist in the WRDMP24 development. The Plan Advisory Group was established under the Countywide Plenary for Water established after the completion of 2019 WRDMP to continue supporting the collaboration. Under the Plan Advisory Group, a Water Supply-Demand Imbalance Subgroup was established for reviewing the project countywide water demands and the imbalance under climate change. Additional topic-specific consultations were conducted as needed. 

Board Briefings, Workshop and Adoption

The Agency provided periodic updates to its Board and a special session for presenting the final draft WRDMP24 and Board’s consideration of readopt the Agency’s implementation policies and guidance with amendments, if warranted.

2019 Water Resources Development and Management Plan

Read the 2019 WRDMP(PDF, 9MB)

In 2019, the Agency took a bold step to transform its WRDMP into a true countywide water plan with clear goals, strategies, and implementation programs. This resulting WRDMP reaffirms the Agency’s commitments to fulfill its charges provided by the 1959 Act, and a renewed focus on advancing an integrated water management strategy in support of the adopted General Plan and integrates policies to support economic growth with sustainable and resilient water resource management.

Advisory Group Meetings

The Agency convened a Plan Advisory Group, Agricultural Advisory Group, and Municipal and Industrial (M&I) Advisory Group to assist in the development of the 2019 WRDMP with broad collaboration among water purveyors, City of Placerville, City of South Lake Tahoe, County of El Dorado, and diverse interested parties (e.g., environmental groups, business entities, agricultural interests, citizen groups). Topic-specific meetings were also conducted as needed to inform the WRDMP.

Board Briefings, Workshop and Adoption

The Agency provided periodic updates to its Board and conducted a public workshop before the Board's consideration to adopt the policies and guidance for Agency's implementation.

Major Supporting Documents and Studies

Archive of Legacy Versions

 

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