Overview
The California Water Code (CWC) Section 10632 requires that every urban water supplier shall prepare and adopt a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) as part of its Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). The first Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) WSCP was adopted in 1987 to provide guidance on implementing actions to reduce water demands in the event of a water shortage. Since then, IRWD’s WSCP has been revised several times. The last significant revision to the WSCP occurred in 2021. Following the 2012-2016 drought in California, IRWD prepared and adopted an updated WSCP in May 2018. The 2018 WSCP incorporated the lessons learned during the 2012-2016 California drought, as well as new elements from the state’s long-term framework document, Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life, Implementing Executive Order B-37-16 , which was released in April 2017. IRWD’s 2018 WSCP provided procedures for responding to various levels of supply shortages including voluntary measures, non-rate response measures, and potential rate response measures for each level of shortage. The 2021 update to the WSCP incorporated new legislated requirements including supply reliability processes, annual water supply and demand assessment procedures, a seismic hazard assessment, and additional prescriptive elements. The 2025 WSCP incorporates all of the previous requirements and is updated with information from the most recent reports, data, and analyses. IRWD maintains the flexibility to amend the WSCP periodically and independently of the UWMP. WSCP Requirements & Sections This 2025 WSCP addresses and incorporates the required elements set forth by CWC Section 10632, including the following requirements:
• Key attributes of the urban water supplier’s water supply reliability analysis conducted pursuant to Water Code Section 10635. [Section 10632(a)(1)]
• Six standard water shortage levels corresponding to progressive ranges of up to 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 percent shortages and greater than 50 percent shortage. [Section 10632(a)(3)(A)] • Locally appropriate “shortage response actions” for each shortage level, with a corresponding estimate of the extent the action will address the gap between supplies and demands. [Section 10632(a)(4)] • Procedures for conducting and approving an annual water supply and demand assessment with prescribed elements that is required by CWC Section 10632.1. [Section 10632(a)(2)]
WSCP - 2
IRWD – 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
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