Water has been and continues to be very important to Butte County. The following are some of the key ways that Butte County addresses water-related issues and how they relate to the Butte County General Plan 2030 process:

1)  The Guiding Principles for General Plan 2030 direct that the Plan shall address water resources.

In adopting the Guiding Principles for the General Plan process in February 2007, the Board of Supervisors included Principle 13: Water Resources, which requires that the General Plan shall address the protection and management of water resources. The full set of Guiding Principles is available at http://www.buttegeneralplan.net/ebinder/2007/2007-02-13/Butte_County_2030_Guiding_Principles_Adopted.pdf.

2)  The General Plan 2030 Setting and Trends report includes a chapter (Chapter 12, which is almost 100 pages long) addressing Water Resources.

The Butte County General Plan 2030 Setting and Trends Report, released in August 2007, includes a stand-alone section addressing water resources. The 97-page chapter compiles extensive information on the regulatory setting; the physical setting; water treatment, conveyance, and storage; and water supply and demand in the County. The full Setting and Trends Report is available at http://www.buttegeneralplan.net/products/SettingandTrends/default.asp.

3)  The Citizens Advisory Committee has been provided with extensive information by the State and County water resources departments.

At the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on January 17, 2008, representatives from the Butte County Department of Water Resources and Conservation (DWRC), the CA Department of Water Resources Groundwater Section and the Geologic Investigations Unit, Northern District, Department of Water Resources provided presentations on water issues in Butte County.  This information will help the CAC to make recommendations on a Preferred Land Use Alternative (Workshop Series 4) and Preliminary Goals and Policies (Workshop Series 5).  Staff from the County’s DWRC  has continued to attend subsequent CAC meetings in order to provide further information as needed. 

4)  The Butte County General Plan 2030 Alternatives Evaluation Report, released in March 2008, assesses water-related factors as part of evaluating the 3 alternatives for each of the 31 study areas.

The Alternatives Evaluation Report evaluates the issues of water supply, groundwater recharge potential, and wastewater as part of evaluating 9 general topics and 22 separate issues in relation to each alternative for each of the 31 General Plan study areas.

5)  The schedule for Butte County General Plan 2030 provides for continued thorough deliberation about water issues and how they relate to the format and content of the General Plan.

One of the keys to developing an effective General Plan is to appropriately balance and address the wide array of issues and options facing the County. Through its first three series of workshops, the General Plan 2030 process has developed a set of Guiding Principles; a Setting and Trends report providing extensive background information on a wide array of issues; 3 land use alternatives for each of 31 study areas; and a Land Use Evaluation Report assessing 22 issues for each of the alternatives for each study area. Workshop Series 5 (Preliminary Goals and Policies) to be held in fall 2008, will be the step during which the content of General Plan policies will be developed. Water-related issues have been and will continue to be addressed during each of these steps.

Prior to Workshop Series 5, the County has scheduled a special Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting to discuss how to craft effective policies, as well as options for formatting a General Plan so as to most effectively incorporate those policies. Representatives from the CA Office of Planning & Research; Design, Community and Environment (the County’s GP 2030 Consultant); and Planning Directors from other counties will be invited to participate in the discussion.  The discussion is scheduled to take place June 5, 2008. Further updates on this meeting will be posted on the General Plan 2030 homepage. The results of the workshop will help inform Workshop Series 5 (Preliminary Goals and Policies), including the content of specific water-related policies to be included in General Plan 2030, as well as the format to be adopted for those policies and for the General Plan 2030 document. The CAC unanimously recommended this approach and timing at its February 28, 2008 meeting.

6)  Butte County's Department of Water and Resource Conservation