Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drought topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mendocino County adopts drought resilience plan, sets triggers and outreach steps
Summary
The Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a countywide Drought Resilience Plan that sets regional triggers, public‑education steps and a staged response for domestic wells and small state water systems.
Mendocino County supervisors unanimously adopted a Drought Resilience Plan on May 20, directing staff to submit the plan to the California Department of Water Resources and begin implementation steps.
The plan, required by state law enacted in SB 552 and prepared with grant funding, divides the county into inland and coastal hydrologic regions, sets three drought stages and establishes public outreach, tracking, mutual‑aid facilitation and emergency actions. Deputy Director of Transportation Amber Fassett said the plan was produced with EKI Environment & Water and UC Cooperative Extension and followed the state guidebook for county plans.
"The take‑home message of the risk assessment is we need to consider the entire county at risk for drought," said Amir Mani of EKI. The plan centers on two user groups the county is expected to help: domestic well users and state small water systems. It uses simple, trackable triggers — e.g., Lake Mendocino storage for inland areas and watershed precipitation for coastal areas — to prompt staged actions.
The plan sets short‑ and long‑term actions: education and public outreach, enhanced monitoring and mapping of impacts, serving as a facilitator for mutual‑aid and funding requests, and implementing emergency water delivery and temporary conservation measures where necessary. Laura Garza Diaz of UC Cooperative Extension summarized the community engagement process, noting two public workshops and more than 70 participants from 15 towns.
Supervisor John Williams asked how the plan will change response next drought. Mani said it formalizes staged responses driven by transparent metrics, and emphasizes public education so the county and residents act before emergency conditions arise.
The board voted unanimously to adopt the resolution approving the plan and to authorize the Director of Transportation to submit it to DWR. Supervisors praised the outreach and requested the county maintain a public web page listing funding opportunities and technical assistance for small water systems and domestic well users.
The adopted plan will be a living document: staff and the county’s Drought Task Force will update triggers and actions as new data or laws emerge. The county has already posted materials and a comment history online and noted a 30‑day public review period that produced several comments on related water issues.
