Lafayette staff present state‑first integrated water‑efficiency and drought‑response plan, seek council input

City staff on Monday presented Lafayette’s draft integrated water‑efficiency and drought‑response plan to the Lafayette City Council, describing a 7‑year roadmap that pairs long‑term conservation measures with staged drought responses.

The plan, staff said, merges earlier conservation and drought documents and is designed to be one of the first integrated plans of its kind to be submitted under state guidance. “This plan really supports a resilient water supply for Lafayette’s future,” said Carrie Bischoff, the city’s water resources manager. Consultants working on the plan include Courtney Black of Jacobs Engineering, who detailed the plan’s two operating modes: water‑efficiency times, focused on long‑term demand reductions and co‑benefits such as landscape conversions, and Drought Response Years, which call for temporary additional savings to preserve essential uses.

Why it matters: staff said the single document is meant to improve coordination, provide consistent community messaging and set measurable targets for the next update cycle. The draft sets two headline targets to be…