The El Dorado Water Reliability Project (EDWRP) is an important initiative that will help ensure residents, businesses, farmers, and ranchers in El Dorado County have adequate water supplies. The County’s adopted General Plan, which serves as a blueprint for development throughout the county, describes the land use and economic development that is expected to occur on the West Slope. In order to support this planned growth, the additional water supplies are necessary.
El Dorado County Water Agency (EDCWA) is working to secure surface water rights to use up to 40,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) from the upper tributaries of the American River using existing diversion and storage facilities. The surface water will help meet some, but not all, of the projected water demands associated with planned domestic, municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses identified in the County's adopted General Plan.
It is projected that the West Slope of El Dorado County will need additional water supplies, even in normal and wet years, to meet planned growth demands. These water needs will only be exacerbated during drought conditions.
In addition to residential and municipal water uses, additional water supplies are needed as 65 percent of the rural-agricultural water use in the County is not served by a public water purveyor. This means that farmers and ranchers, mostly in the Other County Areas, often rely on unreliable groundwater from the fractured rock aquifer. EDCWA and El Dorado County have identified 41,000 acres of additional developable agricultural lands, which will provide significant economic benefits to the county. Additional water supplies are needed for this to become reality.
El Dorado County General Plan Outlines Potential for Significant Agricultural Growth
EDCWA evaluated current and future water demands for municipal, industrial, rural, and agricultural needs, including the approximately 140 small water systems in the county that serve residents, school districts, and recreation areas, and more. Factoring planned growth identified in the adopted General Plan, water conservation, anticipated regulatory changes, and climate change impacts, EDCWA’s analysis found that the projected need for additional long-term water supplies for the West Slope ranges from an average 60,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) to 86,000 AFY under varying climate change conditions.
The EDWRP is designed to make as much progress as possible toward meeting the long term water demands associated with the land use and economic development on the West Slope, consistent with the County’s adopted General Plan. While additional water supply needs beyond the 40,000 AFY are anticipated, the 2005 El Dorado-SMUD Cooperation Agreement only allows for a partial assignment of surface water rights up to 40,000 AFY.
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Draft EIR(PDF, 40MB)
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Appendices:
Appendix A(PDF, 1MB)
Appendix B(PDF, 696KB)
Appendix C(PDF, 1MB)
Appendix D(PDF, 6MB)
Appendix E(PDF, 290KB)
Appendix F(PDF, 2MB)
Appendix G(PDF, 12MB)
Appendix H(PDF, 332KB)
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Notice of Availability(PDF, 131KB)
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Notice of Time Extension of Public Review and Comment Period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the El Dorado Water Reliability Project(PDF, 185KB)
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Notice of Time Extension of Public Review and Comment Period for the DEIR for the EDWRP(PDF, 184KB)
Public Review Period: Written comments must be submitted via email to: edcwa@edcgov.us or via US Postal Service to the El Dorado County Water Agency, 1107 Investment Blvd, Suite 240, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762. Please use EDWRP DEIR Comments in the subject line of the comment letter.
A public review period of 55 days was established for the Draft EIR. The public review period began on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. All comments on the Draft EIR were due by 5:00 PST on Monday, December 9, 2024. Per the notice of time extension, the Agency extended the public comment period through 5 p.m., Wednesday, January 15, 2025 to allow for a total of 92 days to review and comment on the Draft EIR. The comment period is now officially closed.
Public Meeting: Two public meetings were scheduled for the Proposed Project to allow interested person, organizations, and agencies to learn more about the Proposed Project and to provide comment on the Draft EIR. The dates, times and locations of these public meetings were:
Click here(PDF, 2MB) to view the El Dorado Water Reliability Project draft EIR public meeting presentation.
November 19, 2024
From 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
SMUD Headquarters Building (Arden Room)
6201 S St. Sacramento, California
November 20, 2024
From 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
El Dorado County Government Center (Conference Room D)
330 Fair Lane
Placerville, California
General Parking and Accessible Parking map(PDF, 344KB)
The facilities will be accessible to persons with disabilities. Individuals requiring special accommodations are requested to contact the Agency (530) 621-5392 at least 5 working days prior to the meeting.
Additional Information: Additional information may be obtained by emailing: edcwa@edcgov.us or by calling (530) 621-5392.
Please click here to be added to the El Dorado County Water Agency El Dorado Water Reliability Project EIR distribution list.