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�� - 9 <br /> City of Redwood City Draft 2005 Urban Water Management Plan <br /> Executive Summary <br /> Purpose <br /> In addition to complying with State of California water resources law and reflecting <br /> regional water supply planning, this 2005 update of the Redwood City Urban Water <br /> Management Plan (UWMP) serves to capture increasing local public interest and <br /> community values about water supply cost and reliability, and in concert with the many <br /> water-related policies and actions the City Council has taken since the 2003 update of <br /> the UWMP. In the broader view, the UWMP is but one component of the City's broader <br /> planning process, and it is not a singular driver for community policy making. While the <br /> UWMP is not a"water master plan", it should more narrowly set policy direction for <br /> securing and protecting our water supply now and into the future. <br /> Process <br /> The UWMP is a living document and a continuous planning process. It has been and <br /> can be updated frequently, as local, regional and state water supply and demand <br /> variables change. This 2005 update is not the only chance to revise the document, and <br /> in fact, it is at best a"snapshot" in content and approach. <br /> Since 2000, the Redwood City community, City Council and staff has been increasingly <br /> engaged in a dialogue about current and future water supply: Limits on drinking water <br /> availability; effective ways to conserve water and save money as wholesale and <br /> customer rates increase; the safe and appropriate use of the city's new supply of <br /> recycled water; and the impacts of future growth and development on current customers <br /> as well as their future supply reliability (or, how much protection they will have in the next <br /> drought or when unanticipated, sustained shortages occur). As the issues have <br /> emerged and new information became available, the City Council has responded by <br /> listening to their community, and directing staff to increase public outreach and <br /> education, and to find better ways to elicit input and ideas well ahead of Council policy <br /> deliberations and/or their consideration of staff recommendations. To that end, <br /> Redwood City has provided more public information, more opportunity for citizen and <br /> water customer involvement, and more workshop or "roundtable" meetings than most <br /> other neighboring cities and water districts. Although most meetings (spanning from <br /> April 2004 through November 2005) were modestly attended, those who participated <br /> provided rich and thoughtful input and ideas, and asked very good questions. They also <br /> tended to stay engaged throughout the sequence of public meetings, forums and <br /> information sharing. While there were literally hundreds of comments, ideas, concerns <br /> and questions, the overarching themes that were expressed most often and most clearly <br /> were: <br /> a) More education and communication on water conservation is needed and would <br /> be well-received. <br /> b) Redwood City should identify options and explore other/additional water sources. <br /> c) Ensure the safe and appropriate use of recycled water along with more <br /> education. <br /> d) "Drought hardening" of current customer water use is a good thing (as people <br /> take advantage of the City's active conservation program). But, with increased <br /> population and water use, when drought comes everyone will be negatively <br /> affected, and it will be very hard to meet cut-back targets. <br /> ES-1 <br />