Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Water Management Plan

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Ken Swanson of Boyle Engineering Corp to the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Advisory Committee Members on April 16th:

The Madera County Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (Plan) was unanimously accepted by the Board of Supervisors on April 14, 2008. The final document is available on the Madera County website . The project website has been closed.

The acceptance of the Plan as an initial assessment of conditions in the County that also identifies alternatives to protect and improve the County's water resources is only the first step in developing and implementing the Plan. The State is currently developing guidelines for these Plans that should be available to the County later this year. It is anticipated that the County will apply for additional funding to update the Plan to meet future State guidelines. In addition, the Madera County Water Advisory Commission (MCWAC) will review the Plan at least every six months to ensure it is kept current and is updated as conditions change or new information or data is available. Additionally, the MCWAC will be discussing the formation of subcommittees to review and work on the Plan as necessary. The intent is that the document be a "living document" that will be used to assist the County in making decisions regarding water resources in the County now and in the future.


I would like to thank all that participated in the development of the Plan. I know that it took many hours of your time in attending meetings and reviewing documents. Your efforts and giving of your time is greatly appreciated. I also commend the County in taking the lead in preparing this Plan. It is one of only a few being prepared in the Central Valley region and throughout the State. It is also the only Plan that addresses water resources on a countywide basis, including both mountain and valley floor regions. It is very important that the County continue to be proactive in addressing it water resource issues so that the State does not step in and do it for the County. I know that everyone involved believes that Madera County water resource issues are best handled at the local level by the stakeholders that best understand the issues.




© Copyright 2008 North Fork News

2 comments:

Hardware Bob said...

A critically important subject that requires public attention. Our precious water resource is too often taken for granted. Many citizens feel that water is an unlimited resource that will always be there, no matter what happens, and our government will surely protect us.

I am the first to feel complacent especially when I see a full Bass Lake and the streams flowing like they have for hundreds of years.

Looking into the future I can imagine water will eventually be more precious than gold, so we had better start paying attention to our resources, and realize they may not be as unlimited as one might think.

Thanks for the posting, well done, hopefully you have touched a few uninformed individuals.

Farmer Jen said...

I truly appreciate your time and effort in attending the meetings and keeping us informed about our important community issues. It makes it much easier for me to know what is going on around here.