Ventura Water Commission backs 2025 Urban Water Management Plan, contingency plan; recommends council adoption

Ventura Water staff presented the draft final 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and the Water Shortage Event Contingency Plan and asked the commission to recommend that City Council adopt the plans and forward the final submittal to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).

Staff said the plans are required for any retail water agency with more than 3,000 service connections or over 3,000 acre-feet of supply and must be submitted to DWR by July 1, 2026. The presentation explained changes made in response to comments from other agencies, added an executive summary and clarified precipitation gauge data, groundwater basin descriptions and distinctions between normal and multi-dry-year scenarios.

Staff also described a proposed outreach and next steps, including notifying stakeholder agencies and posting the draft for public review. As a targeted measure in the contingency plan, staff said the city plans to contact the 25 highest users to offer conservation support before surcharge steps would apply.

Staff noted the plan enumerates Ventura’s existing supplies (Casitas Municipal Water District deliveries, Ventura River diversions, groundwater basins and reclaimed water), and added footnotes clarifying how State Water Project allocations are treated for planning. The commission had no public commenters and voted to recommend City Council adopt the urban plan and the water shortage contingency plan; the motion carried unanimously.

If City Council approves the plan, staff will incorporate any council changes into the final document for submittal to DWR.