Shafter council adopts 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and water-shortage contingency plan

Shafter City Council adopted the city's 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and a separate water-shortage contingency plan after a consultant presentation and brief public comment. The council voted to approve resolutions 3093 and 3094 to finalize the plans and direct staff to submit them to the State Water Resources Control Board.

The UWMP, prepared by Weston Associates and summarized to the council by consultant Jake Colmer, says the city's water supply comes entirely from local groundwater in the Kern County sub-basin. Colmer told the council the system currently operates with about seven active wells and two additional wells planned to come online by the end of 2027. Current total well capacity was reported at roughly 5,300 million gallons per year, increasing to about 7,000 million gallons per year after the new wells; 2025 demand including losses was presented at about 1,400 million gallons (roughly 184 gallons per capita per day). Colmer said residential use accounts for about 64% of total consumption.

The plan also includes a six-stage water-shortage contingency framework carried over from the 2020 cycle; stages 1--3 define customer prohibitions and voluntary reductions while stages 4--6 would trigger more extensive city-driven responses. Colmer and staff emphasized the contingency plan is designed to be actionable by council resolution when conditions require it.

During council questions, staff and the consultant said the city is using only a portion of available pumping capacity (staff estimated usage at roughly 50--60% of existing capacity) and described the two wells planned for redundancy and reliability. Council members asked about long-term reliability, treatment for potential contaminants and whether recycled water projects are feasible; the consultant said recycled water is included in the planning analysis but is not currently feasible at scale given pipeline lengths and cost. The planned wells were described as approximately 1,000 feet deep, with contaminant treatment the primary technical risk.

The clerk read that the city received written comments from Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District General Manager Chris Lawrence recommending continued collaboration on groundwater sustainability and recharge opportunities; the comment was entered into the record and provided to council. After no additional oral public comment, Councilmember Espinoza moved to adopt the plan and Councilmember Alvarado seconded. The motion passed on roll call and staff will post the adopted plans and submit them to the State within the city's required timeline.

Next steps: staff will finalize the adopted documents for the city website and submit the UWMP and contingency plan through the State Water Resources Department submittal process as required.