Hanford council adopts 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and drought contingency plan

Hanford's City Council on June 2 adopted the city's 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan and authorized submittal to the California Department of Water Resources. Utilities staff presented the plan's assessment of supply reliability, conservation progress, and projected demands through 2050.

Consultant Tony Akell and Utilities Director Frank Centeno walked the council through key findings: the city has reduced per-capita use materially since 2015 and remains under the state benchmark cited in SBx7, the UWMP projects demand and supplies in five-year increments through 2050, and drought tiers guide staged demand reductions. "This plan is intended to reassure the public we have a framework to respond to drought and emergency," Akell said.

Council members pressed staff on the method used to calculate the state target (the plan's 179 gallons per capita per day figure) and asked staff to double-check the rounding and averaging underlying the number. Staff said they would verify the math but affirmed the city's ongoing monitoring plan and the near-term step of smart-meter rollout (about 67% complete) to improve measurement and customer-facing information.

The council closed the public hearing and voted to adopt the plan and shortage contingencies as presented. The adoption authorizes staff to finalize the report and submit it by the state deadline of July 1, 2026. The measure passed on a 5-0 roll call.

Staff said next steps include the formal resolution and public reporting on water-shortage status before the peak summer months. Councilmembers praised community conservation efforts and smart-meter implementation as tools that will help the city meet future targets.