TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute an agreement to create a Joint Powers Authority to create the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Authority. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The State of California, through the State Water Resources Board, has been encouraging regional water management planning through the incentive of grants from State Water Resources development bonds, i.e., Proposition 50 in 2002 and Proposition 84 in 2006. The concept is to integrate water resource planning that has typically been done on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction, and function-by-function basis, into a unified process encompassing entire watersheds. This would include water supply, storm water runoff, sanitation system, water quality improvements, and habitat restoration in a single plan that proposes multi-use projects that transcend jurisdictions or functions.
Los Angeles County, south of the ridgeline of the San Gabriel Mountains, is the watershed that was defined as the planning group in which Long Beach is located. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has been leading the effort to coordinate and plan with over 200 local agencies, single functional departments within agencies, and special districts. Because of the massive population and number of jurisdictions and special districts in the area, the planning effort was further divided into five sub-regions: Malibu and Santa Monica Mountains, San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles, South Bay, San Gabriel Valley, and Lower Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. A regional plan was completed and accepted by the State Water Resources Board. A second round of regional grant submittals for Proposition 50 funding, consistent with the plan, are being prepared.
Many of the cities in the Gateway Cities Council of Governments believe that the Lower Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers grouping is still too large for effective integration of multi-use planning efforts. Thus, these cities...
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