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A watershed is all theland that drains into a river, stream, lake, or estuary, or flows into a groundwater basin.All land is within awatershed. The waterresources within awatershed are connected,both above and belowground.

Watersheds are criticalto the health and wel-fare of our communities– they are the source oflocal water supplies forhomes, industry andnatural habitats.

Covering a watershedwith buildings and pavement has multiple, negative consequences.

Hard, impervious surfaces allow less water to infiltrate the soil. This increasesurban runoff and can lead to flooding and the pollution of our existing watersupplies. Impervious surfaces prevent the replenishment of undergroundaquifers, the source of much of our drinking water.

We need to identify watersheds that are undeveloped, determine their value,and maintain the most important ones in an undeveloped state. They are ourcritical sources of water.

How to Reduce Costs While Improving theReliability and Quality of Water Resources

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One of five fact sheets on “Addressing the Disconnect: Water Resources and Local Land Use Decisions”

❝The water in a watershedis essential for supportingall life.❞

Mary Nichols,Director, UCLA Instituteof the Environment

TThhee VVaalluuee ooff WWaatteerrsshheeddss ttoo LLooccaall CCoommmmuunniittiieessWe have been taking our watersheds for granted.Large state and federal water projects constructedin the 1900s created the impression that communitiesentitled to imported water did not need to protecttheir own watershed. However, in 2005, a StateAppeals Court blocked construction of a largeindustrial park in Santa Clarita after finding it wouldrely on water from a state water project that wouldnot be available during a drought.

Today, we recognize that additional imported watersupplies are highly unlikely, and that the most reliablewater resources are the locally controlled suppliesthat can be protected by sustainable watershedmanagement.

Watersheds maintain the health of forests, fisheries,wetlands, coastal resources, agricultural landscapes,habitat and water supplies. They are the foundation

for a sustainable environment that supports recre-ational activities and healthy local economies.

Also, where land is completely paved over, treatmentcosts are about five times greater than in areaswhere less than 40% of the land in a watershed is paved.

Example: Because their local economies are depen-dent on fishing and tourism, the Northern Californiacounties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino,Siskiyou and Trinity developed a watershed planthat has boosted salmon and steelhead populationsand helped sustain the regional economy.

Example: New York City saved $6.5 billion in futurecosts by purchasing watershed lands rather thantreating the contaminated water that would haveresulted if they were developed.

LLooccaall DDeecciissiioonnss AAffffeeccttRReeggiioonnaall WWaatteerrsshheeddssLocal governments for communities in the sameregional watershed need to make their land-usedecisions in concert with one another becauseeach action can potentially protect or weaken the water system shared by all.

Every time a city council or county board of supervisors approves a new development, theresulting stormwater runoff has an impact on the watershed.

We are losing undisturbed areas of watersheds at a rapid rate. The U.S. population grew by 17% from1982-97, while the amount of land covered over bydevelopment grew by an alarming 47%.

Preserving Watersheds Takes Community TeamworkCommunities need to work together to preservetheir common watersheds. The benefits are many.They include:

➺ The preservation of local water quality.

➺ The preservation of adequate water supplies to support the regional economy.

➺ A reduced need to purchase expensive imported water.

➺ A reduced risk of floods.

➺ The preservation of natural habitats and therecreational resources that residents value.

Communities should develop strategies with other stakeholders in the watershed to assure thepreservation of undeveloped watershed areas, protect currentwater supplies, and reduce flooding. There are many venues for accomplishing this.

City/County Cooperation Cities and counties can worktogether to protect their watershed.

Example: San Diego County andthe cities of Escondido, Encinitasand Solana Beach formed a water-shed-preservation partnershipthat facilitated the purchase ofwatershed land in collaborationwith the San Elijo LagoonConservancy and the EscondidoCreek Conservancy.

The communities are also workingto maintain the land by clearingout creek debris, grappling withnon-native plant species thatcrowd out native plants, andrestoring native, natural shorelinehabitats that filter pollution beforeit enters receiving bodies of water.

Example: Rather than continuingto try to tame the Napa Riverthrough a series of technologicaldevices, a community coalition ofcounty and city officials, wine-makers, farmers, Army engineers,environmentalists, business leadersand community-based organiza-tions developed a watershedmanagement plan that will save

$26 million per year by protecting2,700 homes, 350 businesses andmore than 50 public propertiesfrom flooding.

Spearheaded by local elected offi-cials, Napa County residents votedto pay for the project by passing a ballot measure that raised thesales tax. Today, existing dikes and levees are being removed,restoring 650 acres of vital tidalwetlands, and allowing the river to run free.

Regional PlanningAgenciesCouncils of Government (COGs) thatare responsible for producingRegional Transportation Planshave undertaken “visioning” exer-cises to develop regional growthstrategies that identify where andhow they should grow. Thesestrategies include reducing theexcessive paving of open space

by planning for compact, walkableand mixed-use communities with-in already developed areas. Theseplanning efforts can also specifi-cally address water issues.

Example: San Diego’s Council ofGovernments (SANDAG) hasundertaken a visioning projectthat addresses where and howthe region should grow. Theyhave signed an MOU with the SanDiego County Water Authoritythat makes water supply a com-ponent of the overall growth management strategy.

Example: In Northern California,the Association of Bay AreaGovernments’ CalFed Task Force,in cooperation with the Bay AreaWater Forum, sent letters to everycounty supervisor and mayor inthe nine-county region to encour-age them to incorporate theAhwahnee Water Principles intotheir planning documents.

Metropolitan Planning Organizations(MPOs) are often, but not always,the same as the COG. In someareas, MPOs have developed complementary “carrots andsticks” to provide incentives forsmart growth and transit-orienteddevelopments. Nothing preventsthem from pursuing further strategies specifically designed toprotect their regional watersheds.

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Local Agency FormationCommissions (LAFCOs) A 1995 addition to the CaliforniaWater Code (Section 10910) per-mits LAFCOs to require cities thatwant to increase their sphere ofinfluence to provide informationthat can help determine if existingand planned future water suppliesare adequate to meet current andnew demands on these watersupplies.

Although LAFCOs do not createconditions of approval, electedofficials who serve on their boardscan base their decisions on theimpact of the proposed expansionon the local watershed. TheAhwahnee Water Principles couldbe added by individual LAFCOsas a guideline for approval.

Example: Sacramento County’sLAFCO denied an annexationrequest by the City of Folsombecause the local water agencyconcluded water supplies wereinadequate to serve the newdevelopment of 15,000 homes.

City/County Coordinationwith Water SuppliersThe Urban Water ManagementPlanning Act requires urban watersuppliers with more than 3,000customers to adopt an UrbanWater Management Plan thatexplains how the agency will supply adequate water to meetthe growth needs projected inup-to-date city and county landuse plans in five-year increments.

This offers new opportunities tocoordinate watershed protectionon a sub-regional or regionalbasis, including the preservationof important open space.

Watershed GroupsWatershed management planshave been developed over theyears by all sorts of watershedgroups consisting of many stake-

holders, including local govern-ments, landowners, resource con-servation districts, land conservan-cies, nonprofit organizations, andwater supply agencies and watertreatment operators. Most haveacquired state and federal fundsmatched by local funds to pre-serve their local watersheds.

Example: In 1998, a group thatincluded foundations, two conser-vancies and a resource conserva-tion district signed a formal agree-ment to protect and improve theCarlsbad Hydrologic Unit througha collaborative watershed man-agement plan. San Diego Countyand seven cities joined the efforts,along with federal, state andregional government agenciesand nonprofit organizations. Theproject protects and restores habi-tat, and acquires watersheds toprotect them from development.

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Growth decisions shouldreflect whether water supplies are adequate to meet current and new demands on watersupplies.

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Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plans (IRWMP)IRWMPs are a new program funded by a water bond approvedby the voters in 2002. The bond provides grants for local projects if they are part of a collaborative regional planningeffort. The plans may be the best tool available for local governments to plan future projects with water suppliers and develop mutually beneficial strategies.

Example: The Santa Ana Regional Watershed PlanningAuthority covers a Southern California region projected togrow by 5-10 million residents in the next 50 years. The SantaAna IRWMP includes a message to the planning community to “integrate watershed thinking into the everyday planningprocess.”

Ballot-Box ToolsIn several regions of California, voter initiatives have led tourban limit lines that preserve watersheds by specifying wherecities should grow – and where they should not. Sonoma andVentura Counties have approved measures on a countywidelevel.

Example: In 1990, residents voted to create the Sonoma CountyAgricultural Preservation and Open Space District. It hasacquired or protected from development more than 58,000acres of land, using funds from a local sales tax. City leaders followed this countywide effort by pursuing a model of city-centered growth through voter-approved Urban Growthboundaries around eight of the county’s nine cities.

Ahwahnee Water PrinciplesThe Ahwahnee Principles for Resource-Efficient Communities direct newgrowth, whenever possible, in compactdevelopment while the AhwahneeWater Principles for Resource-EfficientLand Use guides development inundisturbed watersheds..

Suggested Language for General Plans➺ City and county officials, the water-shed council, LAFCO, special districtsand other stakeholders sharing water-sheds should collaborate to takeadvantage of the benefits and synergiesof water resource planning at a water-shed level.

– Ahwahnee Water Principles,Implementation Principle #2

RESOURCES� Local Government Commission

water.lgc.org

� Ahwahnee Water Principleslgc.org/ahwahnee/h2o_principles.html

� State Water Resources Control Boardwww.swrcb.ca.gov

� California Department of Water Resourceswww.dwr.water.ca.gov

� California Bay-Delta Authoritycalwater.ca.gov

� Center for Watershed Protectionwww.cwp.org

editing+design: dave davis

This fact sheet was funded by the California State Water Resources Control Board.