Please visit our Drought Portal for other resources related to drought and water shortages.

Drought Resilience Plan

The Mendocino County Drought Resilience Plan was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on May 20, 2025.  The final plan is available for review here:

Mendocino County Drought Resilience Plan

Appendices

Adopting Resolution 25-093

About SB 552

In September 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 552 (Hertzberg), which requires state and local governments to share responsibility in planning and responding to water shortage events, particularly for state small water systems and rural communities supplied by domestic wells. Through SB 552, the California State Legislature identifies counties as the best-suited government entity to provide the needed leadership to improve water resilience for state small water systems and domestic wells.

Under SB 552, all counties in California are required to prepare a County Drought Resilience Plan (County DRP) to achieve meaningful and long-term improvements in water resilience for their residents. In addition to the development of a County DRP, SB 552 directs counties to establish a long-standing County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force (Task Force) to cultivate the continued practices of drought planning and improving long-term water resilience.

County Compliance

The County and its Water Agency (MCWA) have been effectively complying with SB 552 since 2021 and throughout the recent historic drought period by holding frequent Task Force meetings, currently held under the General Government Standing Committee (GGSC). In May 2024, the County was awarded a grant from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to facilitate the development of its County DRP, which began in June 2024 under the management and administration of the MCWA. MCWA hired a consultant that specializes in water resources planning, EKI Environment and Water, Inc. (EKI), to lead the technical development of the County DRP. MCWA and EKI are closely collaborating with relevant County Departments, University of California Cooperative Extension-Mendocino County (UCCE), stakeholders, and decision-makers to develop a comprehensive plan that complies with the requirements of SB-552 through a transparent public process.

DRP Development

The DRP development workflow consists of four main steps: data collection, vulnerability/risk assessment, development of short-term response actions and long-term mitigation strategies, and plan implementation. These steps will be conducted with effective public education and engagement, in collaboration with water suppliers and managers throughout the County.

The public engagement process will include two public workshops in the third quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 to discuss the DRP development process and its results. Each step of the plan will be discussed at a GGSC meeting. The DRP will also be discussed at GGSC meetings in September 2024, as well as February, March, and May 2025.

To receive updates and further information about the DRP process, please sign up for updates. If you are a domestic well owner or state small water system willing to provide information, please fill out this form.

Join Us!

In September 2024, we held two foundational meetings—a County Drought Task Force (CDTF) meeting under the General Government Standing Committee (GGC) and the first public workshop hosted by UCCE. These meetings introduced the planning effort focused on SB-552 requirements and drought risk assessment, provided an overview of the DRP development process, and gathered valuable input from the community.  In February, we held two additional public meetings, a second public workshop and a CDTF meeting, focused on sharing the DRP’s proposed strategies for drought preparedness and its implementation plan with domestic well owners and State Small Water Systems. In March 2025, we held a third CDTF meeting to build on the progress made during previous sessions, and opened the draft Drought Resilience Plan to public comment.

The public commenting period for the draft DRP was from March 26 to April 25, 2025. After reviewing comments and revising the DRP as applicable, we will present the Final DRP at the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 20, 2025, and the Board of Supervisors will vote on an adoption resolution.

Board of Supervisors Meeting

We encourage all water stakeholders, domestic well owners, and State Small Water System operators to attend to learn final details on the public release of the draft DRP and the commenting process.

• Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2025
• Time: 9:00 AM
• Location: Board of Supervisors (BOS) Meeting, Mendocino County Administrative Center, Board of Supervisors Chambers
• Agenda and remote participation link will be available on https://mendocino.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

         (Meeting will also be broadcast on Mendocino County YouTube Channel)

This meeting represents an opportunity for stakeholders and the public to engage with the final DRP and provide feedback. Your participation is invaluable as we work together to ensure a resilient future for Mendocino County.

 Additional resources:

Drought Resilience Plan Information Factsheet (English)

Plan de Resiliencia ante la Sequía (Español)

Drought Mitigation Strategies Informational Factsheet (English)

Estrategias de Mitigación de la Sequía (Español)

Thank you to those of you who have participated in our previous DRP meetings.  Your input is appreciated and valuable to the DRP process!  Below you can find the Powerpoint presentations from the community workshops and CDTF meetings.