Letter Regarding Valley Water Community Outreach Plan

Joint letter logos


November 20, 2023

Board of Directors
Santa Clara Valley Water District
5750 Almaden Expressway
San Jose, CA 95118

Via email to:

Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@valleywater.org>
Board of Directors <Board@valleywater.org>
John Varela <jvarela@valleywater.org>
Tony Estremera <testremera@valleywater.org>
Barbara Keegan <bkeegan@valleywater.org>
Richard Santos <rsantos@valleywater.org>
Jim Beall <jbeall@valleywater.org>
Nai Hsueh <nhsueh@valleywater.org>
Rebecca Eisenberg <reisenberg@valleywater.org>

Re: Request made by Director Hsueh at April 25 and August 22 Board meetings regarding Valley Water follow up on Sierra Club comments about public outreach.

Dear Board Members,

Thank you for providing the opportunity for the Sierra Club to speak with Valley Water staff about outreach and engagement for the Delta Conveyance Project and the Water Supply Master Plan update. We are following up with the Board because we know board members have an interest in fostering greater community involvement.

Sierra Club submitted a comment letter for the Valley Water Board meeting on April 25th that stated "We recommend scheduling stakeholder outreach and Board agenda items to get input on cost-benefit analysis and water supply portfolio analysis first before analysis begins, and later to provide comments on draft reports summarizing these analyses [via Water Supply Master Plan update process]." In return, Director Hsueh recommended that Valley Water staff schedule a meeting to discuss plans for community outreach and engagement around Valley Water water supply projects.

Sierra Club met with Valley Water staff on September 28th to discuss some proposals for increased outreach and engagement with the community. We felt this was a productive discussion with possibility for follow up on our suggestions.

On October 17, we sent the following suggestions to staff to provide specific ideas for consideration and possible implementation. Our suggestions include general outreach ideas, ideas for a series of BLOGs on the Water Supply Master Plans, and ideas for better outreach and communication about the Delta Conveyance Project.

General Recommendations

  1. We recommend developing an outreach toolbox and outreach guidelines to guide public engagement efforts for all projects. Please consider the following suggestions for the toolbox/guidelines:
    1. Outreach (newsletter articles, social media posts, etc.) could include invitations for further engagement. Opportunities for engagement include future Board and Committee agenda items, opportunities for community groups to schedule a presentation, and how to sign up for project notifications.
    2. Project web pages should include a clear way to sign up for project notifications.
    3. Notification lists could be more robust in general. State agencies have lists on various topic areas and provide the ability to see all the lists and sign up for notifications.
    4. Whenever possible, also send notifications to the press. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has a list for media advisories.
    5. Projects that receive grants appear to have more robust public engagement. Can those engagement requirements be applied more broadly?
    6. Outreach meetings should include a participatory element such as a survey or post-it note exercise.

Water Supply Master Plan (WSMP)

  1. To educate and engage the general public, Valley Water should publish a series of monthly or bi-monthly blogs about water supply and the WSMP. Here are some specific recommendations for blog topics, with a thought towards building a narrative that will keep people’s interest:
    1. WSMP background: where water supply comes from, how it is used, and anticipated changes in water supply; and WSMP Update process.
    2. Water supply issues and how Valley Water is currently addressing them in WSMP 2040. One issue of importance is uncertainty, including uncertain demand increases (or decreases).
    3. Introduction to WSMP 2050 and how it is different from WSMP 2040.
    4. Separate blogs about each Project Type category (alternative supply, surface water supply, storage, and recharge & pipelines), which could include comparing the projects based on important criteria (Sierra Club would like to see information on about environmental impacts and impacts on water rates)

Delta Conveyance Project (DCP)

  1. Re-publish relevant DWR materials through all social media channels, etc. Include information about the relationship to local water supply. According to the DCA Accomplishments - September 2023 (October 10, 2023 Board Agenda Packet), “The DCP Communications Team is supporting water education by pushing out localized data surrounding the relevance of the State Water Project to each member agency.”
     
  2. Update Valley Water DCP web page. We offer the following suggestions:
    1. Add links to recent Board agenda items about the DCP including November 9, 2021 and April 25, 2023.
    2. Add some material or a fact sheet about Valley Water participation in DCP: cost and percent Valley Water will fund, benefits for Santa Clara County, participation in Design and Construction Authority (DCA) and Finance Authority (DCFA), etc.
    3. Add a reference/link to the WSMP Update process.
    4. Add links to specific DWR items that might be of interest to people in Santa Clara County such as fact sheets, DCA and DCFA documents, Environmental Impact Report, project schedule, and how to sign up for updates.
    5. For the sake of transparency and full disclosure, provide information on the impacts from construction and operation of the DCP, describing environmental, social, and economic impacts on the Delta and how those impacts will be mitigated.

For our part, the Sierra Club Loma Prieta is planning two webinars next year about the Delta Conveyance and water supply. We look forward to inviting Valley Water to participate.

We hope the Board will continue to advocate for expanded public engagement on Valley Water projects and planning efforts. Please feel free to contact us to discuss these or other suggestions to improve community outreach.


Sincerely,

Katja Irvin, AICP
Guadalupe Group Conservation Chair
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter

Molly Culton
Chapter Organizing Manager
Sierra Club California