An adequate and dependable water supply is essential for residents, businesses, agriculture, and environmental resources in Ventura County. Ensuring an adequate water supply is an ongoing concern in Ventura County, particularly because of climate change and drought, the related declines in river flows and reservoir levels, historic overdraft of several local groundwater basins, new groundwater well prohibitions, and seasonal and annual differences in the amount of imported water available. The policies in this section seek to improve and protect the county’s long-term water supply. An overview of water supply characteristics in Ventura County is described in Section 10.4, “Existing Conditions,” of the Background Report.
Goal: WR-1
To effectively manage water supply by adequately planning for the development, conservation, and protection of water resources for present and future generations.
The County should encourage water suppliers, groundwater management agencies, and groundwater sustainability agencies to inventory and monitor the quantity and quality of the county’s water resources, and to identify and implement measures to ensure a sustainable water supply to serve all existing and future residents, businesses, agriculture, government, and the environment.
IGC
SO
EJ
HC
The County shall consider the location of a discretionary project within a watershed to determine whether or not it could negatively impact a water source. As part of discretionary project review, the County shall also consider local watershed management plans when considering land use development.
MPSP
RDR
The County shall support the use of, conveyance of, and seek to secure water from varied sources that contribute to a diverse water supply portfolio. The water supply portfolio may include, but is not limited to, imported water, surface water, groundwater, treated brackish groundwater, desalinated seawater, recycled water, and stormwater where economically feasible and protective of the environmental and public health.
IGC
The County shall continue to support the conveyance of, and seek to secure water from, state sources.
IGC
The County shall participate in regional committees to coordinate planning efforts for water and land use that is consistent with the Urban Water Management Planning Act, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the local Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, and the Countywide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (stormwater and runoff management and reuse).
IGC
The County shall encourage the continued cooperation among water suppliers in the county, through entities such as the Association of Water Agencies of Ventura County and the Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County, to ensure immediate and long-term water needs are met efficiently.
IGC
The County shall encourage the continued cooperation among water suppliers in the county, through entities such as Association of Water Agencies of Ventura County and the Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County, to establish and maintain emergency inter-tie projects among water suppliers.
IGC
The County shall encourage the consolidation of water suppliers where necessary to ensure all residents are receiving water of adequate quality and quantity, to promote management efficiencies, and to encourage sharing of local resources and enhancement of managerial and technical expertise and capacity.
IGC
EJ
Where technically feasible, the County shall support the use of groundwater basins for water storage.
IGC
The County shall continue to support and participate with the Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County in implementing and regularly updating the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan.
IGC
The County shall require all discretionary development to demonstrate an adequate long-term supply of water.
RDR
EJ
HC
The County shall evaluate the potential for discretionary development to cause deposition and discharge of sediment, debris, waste and other pollutants into surface runoff, drainage systems, surface water bodies, and groundwater. The County shall require discretionary development to minimize potential deposition and discharge through point source controls, storm water treatment, runoff reduction measures, best management practices, and low impact development.
RDR
EJ
HC
The County shall require that all County-owned water pumps use 100 percent renewable-sourced electricity for water pumping, when feasible, and shall encourage private entities to use 100 percent renewable-sourced electricity when feasible.
The County shall require that discretionary development for new golf courses shall be subject to conditions of approval that prohibit landscape irrigation with water from groundwater basins or inland surface waters identified as Municipal and Domestic Supply or Agricultural Supply in the California Regional Water Quality Control Board's Water Quality Control Plan unless:
1. The existing and planned water supplies for a Hydrologic Area, including interrelated Hydrologic Areas and Subareas, are shown to be adequate to meet the projected demands for existing uses as well as reasonably foreseeable probable future uses within the area; and
2. It is demonstrated that the total groundwater extraction/recharge for the golf course will be equal to or less than the historic groundwater extraction/recharge for the site as defined in the County Initial Study Assessment Guidelines.
Further, where feasible, reclaimed water shall be utilized for new golf courses.
RDR