Plumas Drought Taskforce

Plumas County Drought Resilience Plan – Help Plan for Future Droughts and Water Shortage Emergencies

Are you worried about your groundwater well and future droughts? Plumas County is developing a County Drought Resilience Plan to help prepare state small water systems and domestic wells for future droughts and water shortages. Being prepared helps reduce hardships and improves our community's water supply resiliency.

Attend the January 28th County Drought Resilience Plan Public Meeting to learn more about the County’s efforts to prepare for future droughts and provide feedback on the County Draft Drought Resilience Plan.

What is a County Drought Resilience Plan?

Plumas County is developing a Drought Resilience Plan (County DRP) to facilitate drought and water shortage preparedness for state small water systems (SSWS) and domestic wells within the County’s jurisdiction. The County DRP will include a water shortage risk assessment, a range of short-term responses, long-term mitigation strategies and actions, and other supporting capacity building that the County should consider and adapt, as appropriate, to achieve meaningful, long-term water resilience improvements for their residents.

What is a state small water system?

A system for the provision of piped water to the public for human consumption that serves at least 5, but not more than 14, service connections and does not regularly serve drinking water to more than an average of 25 individuals daily for more than 60 days out of the year, as defined in Section 116275 (n) of the Health and Safety Code (Water Code §10609.51 subd. (m)).

What is a domestic well?

A groundwater well used to supply water for the domestic needs of an individual residence or a water system that is not a public water system and that has no more than four service connections, as defined in Section 116681 of the Health and Safety Code (Water Code §10609.51 subd. (k)).

Why is Plumas County developing a County Drought Resilience Plan?

In September 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 552 (Hertzberg), enacting California Water Code sections 10609.50 through 10609.80, which assigned new responsibilities and requirements at the state and local levels to help small water suppliers and rural communities reduce their risks of inadequate water supply amid a water shortage event. A water shortage event could be caused by droughts or other emergencies such as wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and other local emergencies. 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 SSWS and domestic wells. In accordance with SB 552, Plumas County is preparing a County DRP focused on long-term water resilience of SSWS and domestic wells.

What is the Plumas County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force?

The Plumas County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force (Task Force), composed of internal county staff from the Department of Public Works, Department of Environmental Health, and Department of Emergency Services, is the advisory body leading county DRP development and long-term implementation. The Task Force is responsible for implementing the Communications and Engagement Framework. The Task Force will present the draft DRP to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors and coordinate the implementation of the DRP once adopted. 

How can I learn more about the County Drought Resilience Plan and provide my input?

There are several ways to learn more about the County DRP and provide input on the water shortage risk assessment, short-term responses, and long-term mitigation strategies and actions to facilitate drought and water shortage preparedness.

  • Sign up to receive emails about the County DRP development and how to stay involved. Click Here!
  • Learn more about the Task Force and the outreach tools and activities in the Communications and Engagement Framework here: 
  • Attend a public  throughout the County DRP development process and provide input on the County DRP. Public meetings are anticipated to be held as hybrid meetings accessible for individuals to join either in-person at a pre-disclosed location in the County or virtually through Zoom.  

The tentative meeting schedule is as follows:

Additional outreach activities will be conducted throughout County DRP development to collect additional feedback from community members and other interested parties. This webpage will be updated regularly with relevant information and documents at key milestones, including more information on public meetings and County DRP contents.