MEETING RECAP - JULY 2013

County Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Program

Presented by Carolyn Berg
Hosted at Upper Crust Trattoria, San Luis Obispo
7/19/2013

July’s Branch meeting covered the county-wide Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) program presented by Carolyn Berg with the County of San Luis Obispo. The San Luis Obispo County Regional Water Management Group and stakeholders are currently updating the IRWM Plan to meet current State Guidelines – an effort funded by $1-million of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Proposition 84 grant funding and local funding match. The San Luis Obispo County IRWM Plan promotes implementation of projects and programs that ensure sustainable water uses, reliable water supplies, better water quality, enhanced groundwater reliability, environmental stewardship, efficient urban development, drought preparedness, and watershed awareness.

San Luis Obispo County is a part of what the State calls the “Central Coast Funding Area”, which includes six regions from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara. These regions coordinate on water resources programs and overall IRWM development, but each region develops and implements its own IRWM Plan to address its critical local water resources issues. And when grant funding is available these six regions compete with each other at the State-wide level.

IRWM crosses jurisdictional, watershed, and political boundaries; involves multiple agencies, stakeholders, individuals, and groups; and attempts to address the water resources issues and differing perspectives of all the entities involved through mutually beneficial solutions. 

Carolyn Berg

Utilities Division Staff Engineer

County of San Luis Obispo, Department of Public Works