The Boards of Directors of the Castaic Lake Water Agency and Newhall County Water District unanimously approved the 2010 Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) Urban Water Management Plan at a joint public hearing on June 22.

“The approval by the two Boards is a testament to the quality of this document and the team that has worked so hard on its preparation,” said Daniel Mortensen, NCWD Board President.

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The creation of the SCV Urban Water Management Plan began in May 2010 and included opportunities for input from our community, water partners, environmental groups, elected officials, business groups and other community stakeholders during the five community workshops and three public hearings that were held on the plan.

“We have gone far beyond the public participation requirements cited in the Urban Water Management Plan regulations to ensure that all residents and interested parties had ample opportunity to participate, comment and weigh in on this important process,” said Tom Campbell, CLWA Board President.

The Urban Water Management Plan presents a picture of the valley’s future water situation and describes the long-range water needs of our community and the means to supply the necessary water to the year 2050. Every five years, the water suppliers who deliver in excess of 3,000 acre feet of water or serve over 3,000 connections per year are required by law to prepare an Urban Water Management Plan.

The SCV Family of Water Suppliers partnered in this planning effort to ensure a collaborative planning approach. This plan is not a project-specific document, nor does it take the place of individual project requirements; rather it is a tool that helps guide the local water suppliers’ actions and offers a broad perspective on a wide variety of water issues. The plan concludes that the combination of existing and planned programs to increase supply and conservation will meet the Valley’s water needs through 2050.

“I am proud of the tremendous amount of time and work that has been put into the development of this plan by the community, our staff, consultants and my fellow board members,” said Bill Cooper, CLWA Board Vice President. “Our Urban Water Management Plan serves as the ‘gold standard’ of planning documents throughout the state and is followed closely for its content and thoroughness.”

The final SCV Urban Water Management Plan will be delivered to the State Department of Water Resources before the end of July 2011. The final draft and additional amendments that were made at the recent board meetings are currently available for review online at www.CLWA.org and www.ncwd.org.