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Consent-General Government # 12.
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| Board of Supervisors |
County Administrator |
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| Subject |
| Approve Memorandum of Agreement between the agencies participating in the Lower Sacramento-Delta North Regional Flood Management Plan implementation team: Solano County, Yolo County, Reclamation District 2068, Solano County Water Agency, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, and West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. (No general fund impact) (Blacklock/Sabatini) |
| Recommended Action |
| Approve Memorandum of Agreement between the agencies participating in the Lower Sacramento-Delta North Regional Flood Management Plan implementation team: Solano County, Yolo County, Reclamation District 2068, Solano County Water Agency, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, and West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (Attachment A) and authorize the Chair to execute the document. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Operational Excellence
Safe Communities
Sustainable Environment
Flourishing Agriculture |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
Introduction
An outgrowth of the State of California’s 2012 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP) was the creation of six regional flood management planning areas in the Central Valley. These six areas were established to promote the grassroots preparation of regional flood management plans by encouraging the flood management agencies in each region to include cities, counties, emergency responders, and other important stakeholders in a collaborative effort to resolve long-standing flood risk management issues. The plans identify and prioritize potential structural and nonstructural flood risk reduction projects while also making recommendations for improvements to levee operation and maintenance practices, levee maintenance budgeting, emergency response capabilities, and flood management governance. Each region was funded by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to develop a regional flood management plan for incorporation into the 2017 CVFPP Update.
Regional Setting
The Lower Sacramento / Delta North Region (Region) encompasses portions of Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, and Sutter Counties. A diverse collection of urban interests, rural communities, and agricultural and environmental stakeholders with historically conflicting needs related to water and land use reside within this Region’s boundaries. The Region also contains a complex array of flood protection infrastructure including hundreds of miles of levees and both the Yolo and Sacramento Bypasses.
Through the early stages of regional flood management planning, a project delivery team (PDT) of key local agencies emerged to lead development of the regional plan. This PDT is comprised of the following agencies:
- Solano County
- Yolo County
- Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency
- West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency
- Solano County Water Agency
- Reclamation District 2068
This PDT published the Lower Sacramento River / Delta North Regional Flood Management Plan in July 2014 for consideration by DWR in preparation of the 2017 Update to the CVFPP. This team expanded on this work through the development of a plan for multi-objective water resource management titled the Lower Sacramento / Delta North Region: Corridor Management Framework (CMF). The CMF, published in February 2015, was endorsed by the governing board of each of the local agencies comprising the PDT as guidance for advancing multi-objective water resource project delivery in the Yolo Bypass / Cache Slough Complex. The adopted CMF is provided as Attachment B to this staff report.
Benefit of Formally Coordinated Action
Over the course of the last five years, the local agencies comprising the PDT have come to believe that their shared water resource objectives are best achieved through continued cooperation and collaboration. The focus of this collaboration includes both CVFPP implementation as well as other issues affecting the Region including, but not limited to, flood risk reduction, enhanced ecosystem function, agricultural sustainability, continued access to water supply of good quality, cost effective operation and maintenance of the flood system, and recreation.
The PDT has been successful in influencing water resource project planning and implementation, investment decisions and policy development within the Region. This success has been accomplished through the leadership and experience of local agency representatives operating in an informal and ad hoc team environment. The PDT believes that a more formal commitment and structured approach to this effort is now necessary to expand on these early successes and increase influence over water resource management and related matters of mutual interest in the Region. The goal is to effectively seek and advocate for positions of regional consensus regarding multi-objective water resource and land use studies, projects, and policies in the Region with a single, unified voice to State and Federal agencies involved in related efforts. An example of the importance of acting with a single, unified voice is through participation in the multi-agency Yolo Bypass / Cache Slough Partnership convened by the California Natural Resources Agency.
Memorandum of Agreement Overview
The purpose of the MOA is to establish a more formal cooperative effort by and between the local agencies participating in the PDT that will be known as the Lower Sacramento / Delta North Regional Collaborative (LS/DN Regional Collaborative). The LS/DN Regional Collaborative is an effort through which these agencies will effectively engage with one another on water resource management projects and issues. The cooperative effort envisioned by this MOA, while non-binding in all respects, is intended to promote collaboration and effective advocacy by the local agencies on matters of mutual interest, including advancement of the CMF. The MOA also addresses partnership governance including membership, decision making, financial obligations, and other relevant issues building on the success of the regional flood management planning process.
The Delta Subcommittee and the Office of the County Counsel were closely involved in the preparation of the MOA.
Recommended Action
This team of local agencies has been successful in influencing water resource project planning and implementation, investment decisions, and policy development within the Region. Based on this success and the desire to increase influence over water resource management and related matters of mutual interest in the Region, staff recommends approving participation in the Memorandum of Agreement between the County of Solano, Solano County Water Agency, Reclamation District No. 2068, County of Yolo, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, and the West Sacramento Flood Control Agency to Cooperate on Matters of Mutual Importance in the Yolo Bypass / Cache Slough Complex. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| Staff has coordinated with the participating entities (Solano County, Solano County Water Agency, RD 2068, SAFCA, and WSAFCA) and the State Department of Water Resources on this item. County Counsel participated in the drafting and review of this MOA. |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
| Activities undertaken by the LS-DN RFMP team are funded by a grant from the California Department of Water Resources. |
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