The Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management planning mission is to preserve the economic and environmental wealth and well-being of the Pajaro River watershed through watershed stewardship and comprehensive management of water resources in a practical, cost effective, and responsible manner.
In 2002, the State Legislature passed the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Planning Act (SB 1672) to encourage local entities to improve water quality and water supply reliability to meet the state’s overall agricultural, domestic, industrial and environmental water needs. IRWM Regions are self-organized, geographically based groups, and the 48 regions serve 99% of California’s population.
In October 2004, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water), San Benito County Water District (SBCWD), and Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the purpose of coordinating water resources planning and implementation activities watershed-wide consistent with SB 1672.
The three agencies, now collectively known as the Pajaro River Watershed Regional Water Management Group (RWMG), have led the development and implementation of the Pajaro River Watershed IRWM Plan and subsequent updates. The top regional IRWM planning priorities are:
As part of their role, the RWMG has met and will continue to meet regularly in order to formulate and carry out the mission, goals, objectives, and strategies of the IRWM Plan and to solicit and encourage participation from other agencies and stakeholders in the watershed. The on-going nature of the IRWM process and stakeholder collaboration will facilitate conflict identification and resolution of issues within the watershed. The collaborative approach will also provide a forum for identifying and evaluating water supply, water quality, groundwater and surface water management, ecosystem restoration, flood management, and other watershed issues.
Neeta Bijoor, Ph.D.
Associate Water Resources Specialist