A Word from Our General Manager, Rebecca Guo

Looking back on 2024, I am proud of the work we have done - and continue to do - to  ensure our county has secure water resources now and into the future. Through this work we collaborated with partners who are committed to finding creative and adaptive solutions. One of these projects is the Leek Springs Meadow Restoration Project. I had the honor of recently touring the project with the American River Conservancy and Wilton Rancheria to see the restoration work that will help reconnect the meadow's incised stream channels to the adjacent floodplain. This project will help improve water quality by trapping post-fire sediment and capturing stormwater to runoff, in addition to providing many other environmental, social, and cultural benefits. I am proud of our agency's commitment to furthering nature-based solutions and am glad that we were able to contribute funds to help make this project a reality.  

As we look ahead, we recognize that our countywide water resilience is tied to a healthy watershed and that we need to continue to support efforts that promote forest health and wildfire resiliency. We must proactively and collaboratively plan for the county's long-term water needs as demands will inevitably outpace supplies.

EDWA knows that one agency or entity cannot do this alone and it takes many partners to address the challenges our communities and the environment face. I’m grateful for the collaboration we had at our recent Countywide Plenary for Water and the collective emphasis on the need to increase partnerships. I also appreciate the 30 water and land use managers who provided insight to our agency as we updated our Water Resources Development Management Plan. 

As we head into the holidays, our team at EDWA wishes all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving and a happy holiday season. We’re thankful for your partnership and look forward to our continued collaboration.

A Water Year in Legislation Closes with a Quiet Bang

As we close out the 23-24 legislative session, a quick look in the rearview mirror reveals a wake of littered water policy that didn’t quite make it to the finish line, and one notable exception that did.

The session started with an influx of water proposals to fundamentally overturn our 150-year-old water rights system. That was quickly followed by additional proposals on water efficiency and conservation standards, investments in gray and green water infrastructure, CEQA exemptions for critical water investments, rate payer assistance programs, groundwater recharge expansion and much more. EDWA also honed in on proposals to accelerate wildfire resilience, invest in forest health, and deal with the massive amounts of biomass that need to be removed from our landscape to prevent the next Caldor-type fire. However, in the face of mounting budget deficits ($37B in 2024 alone) many of these policy proposals (water and forest health alike) were held in fiscal committees or amended to become hollow shells of their initial ambitious scope. In fact, of the measures on EDWA’s radar, only a handful made their way to the Governor’s desk for action.

The one noteworthy exception was the approval and placement of a $10B climate resilience and water bond on the ballot which passed with 58% of the vote. Proposition 4, is the largest climate bond ever put before voters. It contains several noteworthy provisions on wildfire and forest resilience, water infrastructure, drought and flood response, clean and safe drinking water, recycled water, and and other climate resiliency projects. As loyal readers know, El Dorado County deals with its fair share of all of these issues and like all areas of the state we need additional resources and investments to secure and protect our communities from their impacts. Voter approval of this bond means that more grant opportunities and directed funding will be available to the county, the agency, and county purveyors to meet the needs of El Dorado County residents and the many visitors who come to recreate in our area.

In 2025 we will see a new legislative class with over 30 new members (which is 25% of the total legislative body). We are also entering the last two years of the Newsom Administration, and multiple candidates are jockeying to be the next Governor.  As always, EDWA will take a lead role in educating these new members and aspiring Governors about the importance of our watershed which is the headwaters of California’s water supply and the values and priorities of El Dorado County. We look forward to telling you about that work in the months to come.

Water Resources Development Management Plan Update Completed 

We are excited to share with you our 2024 Water Resources Development Management Plan (WRDMP), a roadmap to help manage our county’s water resources in an integrated and holistic manner. This plan reflects a comprehensive approach, combining scientific research, community input, and the latest best practices in water management. 

We are proud of our many accomplishments over the past five years to improve countywide water resilience and watershed health through strengthened partnerships with local, state, and federal partners. Since the last WRDMP update in 2019, natural disasters, population growth, and new regulations have all impacted our water future. As weather extremes intensify and our region continues to grow, we must remain forward-thinking and sustainably manage our water as it is the foundation of our community, environmental, and economic prosperity. 

We appreciate the input from all of our partners including their subject-matter expertise, technical information, and institutional knowledge that was shared during the development of this plan. While each entity individually plays an important role, it is only through our mutual support and partnership that we can plan, protect, and restore our water resources.

Countywide Plenary Focus on Advancing Landscape-Scale Projects

Our fall Plenary included thoughtful discussions about how to navigate barriers to securing funding and implementing cross-jurisdictional landscape-scale projects. Common themes emerged in both small group discussions and panelist discussions including challenges related to underfunded projects, conflicting priorities, redundant policies, lack of performance based assessments, internal silos, and public outreach.

The group discussed the need for proactive planning and increased accountability as well as placed an emphasis on identifying common goals, sharing lessons learned, and establishing true partnerships. 

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our speakers and panelists, Kathleen McIntyre (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency); JoAnna Lessard (Yuba Water Agency); Elena DeLacy (American River Conservancy); Mark Egbert (El Dorado & Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts); and Rae Dunstan (Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative). Their insights and experience encouraged attendees to think about how collectively we can be a strategic partner and work with others both in and outside our jurisdictions to overcome barriers to advance landscape-scale projects that benefit communities and the environment.

EDWA Presented on Ecosystem Valuation Report at Joint Water Resources Conference

We were thrilled to present our ecosystem goods and services valuation report at the Joint Water Resources Conference put on by the American Water Resources Association, the Universities Council on Water Resources, and the National Institutes for Water Resource. 

Water leaders throughout the country were interested to learn about our innovative valuation of the upper American River watershed which showed that it is a natural capital asset worth $1.6 trillion over a 100 year period. In the past, natural systems have not been valued as economic assets and as a result there has been underinvestment in maintaining the health of working and natural lands. Understanding a watershed’s economic value is important as it enables informed investments of natural, built, and social capital and furthers a multi-agency, holistic, and integrated  approach to sustainable watershed management. It also helps promote innovative management and financial strategies to facilitate landscape-scale improvements.

"Water on the Farm" Kids Art Contest Winners