DATE: June 3, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Water Utilities Department
TITLE: Resolutions for the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council hold a public hearing and adopt a resolution accepting the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and adopt a resolution accepting the 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Urban Water Suppliers, including the City of Oceanside (City), are required to submit an adopted Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and an adopted Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) to the State of California (State) every five years by July 1 of years ending in -1 and -6. Required guidelines and procedures are set forth in the California Urban Water Management Planning Act, Water Code Division 6, Part 2.6. The UWMP documents the City’s work to ensure adequate water supplies to meet existing and future demands for water through 2050 under a range of water supply conditions, including water shortages. The WSCP, also included as Section 8 of the UWMP, outlines the City’s actions to monitor and respond to water shortage conditions. The responses are categorized into 6 levels, depending on how much demand needs to be reduced to meet available supplies. The actions in each level build on restrictions in the previous level to decrease water use as needed. The 2025 WSCP does not make any changes to the water shortage levels or to the potential actions in each level that are currently in place.
The most recent Oceanside plans were adopted on June 16, 2021 and submitted to the State by July 1, 2021. The 2025 draft plans update those plans approved in 2021 with actual water supply and demand numbers from 2020-2025 and reevaluate the numbers projected through 2050. The 2025 draft plans also contain updates to water supply infrastructure projects and changes to population and demand patterns that have been identified since 2020. The updates were made by analyzing local and regional data and in coordination with the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), the regional water wholesaler.
The draft plans have been available for public review since May 4, 2026. Public comments will be considered through the end of the public hearing and will be incorporated into the draft documents as necessary.
The adopted plans will satisfy regulatory requirements and serve as a resource document for regulators, City staff, and the public. The plans demonstrate that, between local water resources such as groundwater, the Pure Water Oceanside program, and recycled water, and imported water purchased through SDCWA, the City will have sufficient water supplies to meet future demands. The City will continue to follow the procedures outlined in the Water Shortage Contingency Plan to assess potential water shortages at least annually, and to enact response actions outlined in the plan, if needed, to address any anticipated shortages.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City’s 2025 UWMP and WSCP include details of the City’s water resource management and efficiency programs. Programs outlined in these two plans include projects already budgeted and approved by City Council. No new programs were added in these plans. There is no fiscal impact indicated by this report.
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
The Utilities Commission approved staff’s recommendation at its regularly scheduled meeting on May 19, 2026.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The City Council is authorized to hold a public hearing in this matter. Consideration of the matter should be based on the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing. The supporting documents have been reviewed by the City Attorney and approved as to form.
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Prepared by: Elisa Marrone, Water Efficiency Program Manager
Reviewed by: Fred Mayo, Water Utilities Director
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolutions (2)