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Governor Brown Appears at Association of California Water Agencies Event:  Following the Administration’s release of the updated California Water Action Plan, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today spoke at the “CA Water 2.0 – What’s Next for the California Water Action Plan?” event organized by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), detailing the state’s efforts to effectively manage water now and into the future. “Our climate is rapidly changing, our population is growing and more extreme weather looms on the horizon. Now is not the time to shirk from responsibility,” said Governor Brown. “Storage or conveyance alone will not solve all of our problems. Recycling, groundwater management and conservation, individually, won’t get us there either. It will take all of the above. We must think differently and act boldly — and that’s exactly what California is doing.”  More Information

State Water Action Plan Updated to Reflect Two Years of Progress:  The Natural Resources Agency, Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Environmental Protection Agency today announced an updated California Water Action Plan that incorporates two years of significant progress toward sustainable water management and an implementation report that tracks and details that progress. The Administration’s water policy goals and priorities remain unchanged and the California Water Action Plan continues to focus on sustaining supplies of water for people and the environment and resolving the state’s most critical water resource problems. The plan sets forth 10 overarching actions that guide the efforts to create more resilient, reliable water systems and to restore damaged and destroyed ecosystems.  More Information

• “The Water Action Plan lays out an integrated set of strategies recognizing there is no one answer to our water challenges,” said Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “It serves as a catalyst for collaboration across government at the state, federal, and local levels to help us build resiliency and flexibility to manage droughts, floods and adaptation to climate change.”

• “The Governor’s budget, our emergency drought response, our investment of billions of dollars in bond funds, and the day‐to‐day work of state agencies – all are guided by the Governor’s Water Action Plan,” said California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird. “We are well‐coordinated and making good progress for the sake of all Californians.”

• “The comprehensive actions outlined in the Governor’s plan have already influenced the way Californians are responding to the current drought,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection, Matthew Rodriquez. “The Plan will continue to help us work with the public to develop near term and long term strategies to secure our water for future generations.”

Voluntary Agreements in Major Watersheds:  Since the Water Action Plan was released in 2014, the administration through the State Water Board and the Natural Resources Agency, including its constituent Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Water Resources, have continued to analyze the many different regulatory and voluntary efforts underway in tributaries to the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. In some regions and watersheds, there are existing regulatory proceedings related to water or federal licensing of privately-owned hydroelectric dams. In other watersheds, stakeholders have begun to organize discussions about collaborative voluntary programs. The Natural Resources Agency will build on this work done to date and help develop voluntary agreements by the end of 2016 between stakeholders in the Sacramento Valley, and in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced River watersheds (tributaries that form the Lower San Joaquin River watershed) that, when implemented, will improve instream conditions for fisheries.  More Information

The Department of Water Resources Announces $232 Million in Grants to Improve Water Management Across California:  The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced approximately $232 million in grant funding of 26 proposals for Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) projects that will leverage hundreds of millions of additional local and federal dollars. The award of funds from a 2006 water bond passed by voters statewide will support projects and programs to meet California’s long-term water management needs, including delivery of safe drinking water, enhancement of recycled water use, water conservation, flood risk reduction, watershed protection, ecosystem restoration, protection of water quality and management of groundwater.  More Information

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Awards $31.4 Million to Fund Ecosystem and Watershed Restoration Projects:  The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced the selection of 24 projects that will receive funding from its Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1) Restoration Grant Programs: The grants, which total $31.4 million, are CDFW’s first distribution of funds through these programs. They include approximately $24.6 million awarded through the Watershed Restoration Grant Program to projects of statewide importance outside of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and approximately $6.8 million awarded through the Delta Water Quality and Ecosystem Restoration Grant Program for projects that benefit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta specifically.  More Information

New Laws Bring Changes to Sustainable Groundwater Management Act; Department of Water Resources Continues Outreach: New amendments to the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) modify and clarify some of the rules that local agencies will need to address when forming a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA). The SGMA amendments also change the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) role in reviewing, posting, and tracking GSA formation notices. DWR is continuing its technical, financial and facilitation assistance to local agencies as they adapt to the changes.  More Information

January 20: California Water Commission Meeting:  This meeting will include approval of the Commission’s 2015 State Water Project Review, a briefing on grant and loan programs benefiting small water systems and disadvantaged communities, an update on development of Groundwater Sustainability Plan regulations, and an update on Water Storage Investment Program.  Agenda

Governor Proposes $955 Million for Continued Drought Response and Water Action Plan Implementation:  Since the Governor first declared a state of drought emergency in January 2014, the Administration has worked with the Legislature to appropriate $3.7 billion to assist drought-impacted communities, provide additional resources for critical water infrastructure projects and respond to drought-related wildlife emergencies.  The state has also committed an additional $292 million General Fund in the current year for emergency response activities associated with catastrophic wildfires. The Governor’s proposed FY 16/17 Budget provides an additional $323.1 million ($212.1 million General Fund) on a one-time basis to continue immediate response to the drought.  Many of the emergency drought response actions executed to date further the 10 actions of the California Water Action Plan. The state’s emergency drought response is strategically guided by accelerating several of the key actions in the California Water Action Plan that will provide long‑term benefits for the state. The 2015/2016 State Budget committed $4.8 billion from Proposition 1 to Water Action Plan related activities and the Governor’s proposed FY 16/17 State Budget includes and additional $635 million in combined funding to further implementation of the CA Water Action Plan.  Governor’s Proposed Budget    Water Action Implementation Report