Helping Rural Foothill Small Water Systems Improve Resiliency in the Face of Climate Change

The water supply reliability of small water systems in El Dorado County’s rural Sierra Nevada foothills are under constant threat in light of California’s ongoing drought, dwindling snowpacks, increasing wildfire threats, and aging infrastructure. Many of these small water systems rely on fractured rock groundwater or local springs that need sufficient annual winter precipitation which is becoming rarer with the realization of climate change. Furthermore, the remoteness and significant elevation changes between each system make it prohibitive to successfully consolidate, which is one of the often-recommended solutions to improve small water system reliability.
El Dorado Water Agency (Agency), whose mission is to ensure that El Dorado County has adequate water for today and in the future since its formation in 1959, has been working in partnership with local governments, including the County of El Dorado, public water agencies, small water systems, the community, and others to improve small water system reliability. Consistent with the new Senate Bill 552 (Hertzberg, 2021), the Agency is the lead in facilitating a county drought task force and developing countywide water shortage plan to improve preparedness and resiliency of small water systems. This includes working collaboratively to collect data, identify vulnerabilities, formulate mitigation and response actions, and support implementation.
This presentation will discuss the challenges encountered with improving water supply reliability for small water systems in El Dorado County, and the instrumental facilitation role the Agency has and continues to fill to promote coordinated and successful steps towards improved reliability.