The Urban Water Management Planning Act
The City is required to adopt an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) every five years to comply with California’s Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act). The Act is codified in Sections 10610 through 10657 of the California Water Code (CWC).
The Act became effective on January 1, 1984 and requires that every urban water supplier that provides municipal and industrial water to more than 3,000 customers (or supplies more than 3,000 acre-feet per year) prepare and adopt an UWMP every five years in accordance with prescribed requirements in order to be eligible for state grant funding and/or financial assistance. The key reporting requirements in the UWMP include:
- Existing and planned sources of water.
- Water demand forecasting.
- Conservation efforts to reduce water demand.
- Activities to develop alternative sources of water.
- Assessment of reliability and vulnerability of water supply.
- Water shortage contingency plan.
- Reporting on climate change impacts and energy intensity.
L.A.’s UWMP
The 2020 UWMP is the last adopted plan and continues to serve as the City’s master plan for reliable water supply and resources management. With a 25-year planning horizon through the year 2045, the 2020 UWMP included a strategy to achieve the City’s goals and policy objectives for reliable water supply. The strategy included the development of additional local supplies to help reduce the City’s future dependence on purchased imported supplies, supported by recommendations from prior program level planning initiatives, including the Recycled Water Master Documents, Groundwater System Improvement Study, Stormwater Capture Master Plan, and Conservation Potential Study (see document below). These prior efforts represented an integrated water resources management strategy. A copy of the 2020 UWMP is available below.