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Board reorganizes drought work group, transfers lead to Community Development for SB 552 drought resiliency planning
Summary
Supervisors approved renaming the county’s drought working group to the Lake County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force, established an ad hoc advisory committee and approved transferring primary lead responsibility to the Community Development Department to produce a drought resiliency plan under SB 552.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 approved reorganizing the county drought effort and assigned lead responsibility to the Community Development Department to prepare a drought resiliency plan to comply with Senate Bill 552.
The board voted to rename the existing group the Lake County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force and directed staff to establish an ad hoc advisory committee that will draft the SB 552‑required drought resiliency plan. County staff said the ad hoc committee will convene subject‑matter experts in water resources, agriculture, special districts and community representatives and will hold at least four meetings to produce a draft plan for review by the task force and final approval by the Board of Supervisors.
Why it matters: SB 552 requires counties and small water suppliers to prepare or adopt plans addressing drought preparedness for small water systems and domestic wells. County staff said shifting lead to Community Development better aligns the drought planning work with the county’s ongoing Lake County 2050 general‑plan update and associated public outreach.
Scope and roles Stantec, a county contractor providing technical assistance through state funding, will support plan drafting and public engagement. Staff said the Watershed Protection District (Water Resources) will continue to provide technical input and will support the community outreach and implementation tasks; the transfer is administrative, not a removal of subject‑matter involvement.
Board action and oversight The Board approved the reorganization and the ad hoc committee formation and directed staff to return with proposed membership categories for board approval. County counsel advised that the ad hoc committee will be temporary and not a standing Brown Act body, but the process will provide multiple public input opportunities. The county expects to use state technical assistance funding and a one‑year project schedule tied to the assistance grant.
Ending Staff said they will publish a project timeline, convene the ad hoc committee and begin public outreach and data collection to meet SB 552 requirements.
