SR - RES-10809 - SUPPORT BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PROJECTAGENDA ITEM
July 8, 2014
Cp�, CP
TO: Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
THRU: John W. Sibley
City Manager
FROM: Joe DeFrancesco
Public Works Di ector
ReviewedNeri By:
City Manager
Finance Direct
To Be Present B Joe DeFrancesco
X Cons Calendar
City Mgr Rpts
Council Rpts
Legal Affairs
Boards /Crates
Public Hrgs
Admin Rpts
Plan/Environ
1. SUBJECT 77�71
Resolution No. 10809 - A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange, in support of the
Bay -Delta Conservation Project (BDCP) and a letter of support for the BDCP alternative #4.
2. SUMMARY
The BDCP documents identify 16 options for addressing the current challenges with California's
water supply delivery system and the Delta ecosystem. Alternative #4 provides for three new
intakes on the Sacramento River in the northern Delta to convey water, via two new tunnels, to
the existing aqueduct system. The plan also incorporates a comprehensive habitat conservation
plan for the Delta.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Adopt Resolution No.10809 in support of the Bay -Delta Conservation Project.
2. Approve letter of support for the Bay -Delta Conservation Project, Alternative #4 and authorize
the Mayor to sign letter of support.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
No Fiscal Impact
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL(S)
lb) Provide for a safe community — Provide and maintain infrastructure necessary to ensure
the safety of the public.
2d) Be a fiscally healthy community - Effectively manage and develop City assets.
4b) Provide outstanding public service - Provide facilities and services to meet customer
expectations.
6. GENERAL PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Infrastructure Element Goal 6.0: Ensure water, sewer, and storm drain systems that meet the
needs of residents and businesses.
ITEM 3.31 1 7/08/2014
Policy 1.1: Provide sufficient levels of water, sewer, and storm drain service throughout the
community.
Economic Development Element Goal 6.0: Provide sufficient infrastructure to support
anticipated economic development and growth.
Policy 6.1: Provide public improvements to support commercial, industrial and institutional uses
1 7. DISCUSSION and BACKGROUND
The Delta is a critical link in California's water supply system. Freshwater originating in the
Sierra Nevada and eastern coastal range flows to the Delta, providing water supplies for 25
Million Californians and the economies of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, and
Southern California. This water irrigates farms where much of the nation's domestic fresh
produce is grown. The Delta supports critical infrastructure of statewide importance, including
energy transmission lines; transportation routes for ships, trains and trucks; and water delivery
structures.
The implementation of the proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) conveyance facilities
and habitat protection and restoration are expected to have temporary and permanent impacts on
the Delta.
The draft plan and environmental documents identify 16 options for addressing the current
challenges with California's water supply delivery system and the Delta ecosystem. Alternative
#4, which provides for three new intakes on the Sacramento River in the northern Delta and a
9,000 cubic feet per second (67,325 gallons per second) tunnel system to convey that water to the
existing aqueduct system, coupled with a comprehensive habitat conservation plan for the Delta,
is the best alternative to meet California's co -equal goals of water supply reliability and Delta
ecosystem restoration.
The construction of new water intakes and related conveyance is an essential element of the
BDCP. The proposed twin tunnel system will protect public water supplies if a seismic event
were to trigger levee breaks and cause saltwater to intrude from San Francisco Bay. The new
intakes in the northern Delta will reduce conflicts between water systems and migrating fish
species such as salmon. Habitat improvements will provide native species with the healthy
ecosystems they need to survive. Fifty years of regulatory stability will protect an estimated 1.1
million jobs throughout the state and create more than 177,000 jobs from construction projects
and environmental restoration.
Southern California depends on imported water for approximately 50% of its water needs for the
entire region. Approximately 30% of the water used in the City of Orange is imported water, a
portion of which originates from the Bay -Delta Area.
8. ATTACHMENTS
• Letter of Support
• Resolution No. 10809
JD;cp
ITEM 2 7/08/2014
RESOLUTION NO. 10809
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ORANGE IN SUPPORT OF THE BAY DELTA
CONSERVATION PLAN, RELIABLE WATER SUPPLIES
AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
WHEREAS, water supplies from Northern California that move across the Sacramento -San
Joaquin Delta are vital to the economy of California, serving 25 million people from the Bay
Area to the Mexican border and agriculture throughout the Central Valley; and
WHEREAS, the Delta is the 550,000 -acre estuary where the rivers of the Sierra Nevada merge
before heading west to San Francisco Bay; and
WHEREAS, the Delta is in a state of environmental stress due to the loss of wetlands habitat,
invasive species, pesticide runoff, a depletion of native food supplies, pumping operations and
other factors; and
WHEREAS, the decline in the Delta's health threatens this unique environment and water
supplies that are key to the California economy; and
WHEREAS, the Delta's levees are not engineered to protect the state's water supply distribution
system from a major earthquake, and multiple levee failures could disrupt water deliveries and
the state economy for up to three years; and
WHEREAS, state and federal agencies, via the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) process,
have worked for years towards developing a comprehensive package of ecosystem and water
system improvements to address both current conflicts in the Delta and long -term threats to the
state's water supplies; and
WHEREAS, BDCP represents an effort to comply with state and federal environmental laws for
fifty years through a cooperative effort to reverse the Delta's decline; and
WHEREAS, the failure to take decisive actions would be an unacceptable risk to the
environment of the Delta and the economy of California; and
WHEREAS, on December 13, 2013, the state released a public draft BDCP and its
environmental impact statement /report; and
WHEREAS, out of all the proposed BDCP alternative plans examined by the state, Alternative
Number 4 was designated as the state's preferred alternative for the BDCP; and
WHEREAS, the state's preferred alternative is the most promising plan developed to date to
solve Delta challenges and resolve decades of conflicts between agricultural, urban and
environmental water users with a comprehensive solution that achieves California's Co -Equal
goals of a reliable water supply and a restored Delta ecosystem; and