At a special meeting on Tuesday, July 11, the SCV Water Board of Directors adopted a Sustainability Plan, which contains a comprehensive assessment of SCV Water’s current sustainability initiatives, a baseline for measuring progress and a roadmap to improve operational sustainability. Implementation begins in 2023 and goes through 2045, with updates anticipated on a five-year schedule.

“The Sustainability Plan is the culmination of work that builds upon SCV Water’s Green Team’s efforts to coordinate sustainability activities across the Agency,” said Matt Dickens, SCV Water sustainability manager. “It leverages the State of California’s sustainability initiatives with SCV Water’s long-term planning objectives.”

The Plan contains sustainability goals, greenhouse gas emissions targets, and specific steps to achieve the targets. It also aligns with the Agency’s strategic planning efforts, which include:

– Adopting environmentally sustainable business practices

– Actively managing natural resource use

– Assessing SCV Water’s carbon footprint

– Development and implementation of appropriate emissions reductions

The Plan will enhance SCV Water’s eligibility for State and federal grant and loan packages and provide a guide to evaluate SCV Water’s capital improvement and general operating programs for sustainability.

“Implementation of the Plan will help SCV Water align with State initiatives, and better position the Agency for funding,” said Dickens. “It also identifies pathways for SCV Water to increase its energy use efficiency and to become carbon neutral in its operations over time while simultaneously mitigating its impacts to climate change. Successfully accomplishing these goals aligns with the Agency’s core mission of providing responsible water stewardship to the Santa Clarita Valley.”

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About the Sustainability Plan

The Sustainability Plan establishes a roadmap to implementing key sustainability initiatives. It will serve as a guide in planning and evaluating investments in capital projects, water resources and conservation and help SCV Water align with state initiatives and position itself for funding that supports operational sustainability. The Agency’s historic water conservation successes and forecasted conservation are critical to achieving sustainability and resiliency to substantially decrease SCV Water’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Sustainability Plan reinforces SCV water’s four core operational pillars as identified below:

– Reliable and resilient operations;

– High-quality water and resource sustainability;

– Cost-effective and efficient; and

– Transparency and accountability.

This Plan and its associated actions complement SCV Water’s long- and short-range planning efforts, as well as existing sustainability strategies and ongoing water conservation programs. These include, but are not limited to, the Urban Water Management Plan, Groundwater Sustainability Plan, Water Supply Resiliency Plan, Water Shortage Contingency Plan, and Water Use Efficiency Strategic Plan. Plan preparation began in 2021 and included a public workshop (July 2022) and a 30-day public review process (April-May 2023), to solicit input on priorities and ideas. Implementation of SCV Water’s Sustainability Plan will begin in 2023 and go through 2045.

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About SCV Water:

The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water) is a full-service regional water agency located in the Santa Clarita Valley. SCV Water provides water service to approximately 75,000 business and residential customers. It was formed on January 1, 2018, when local water suppliers combined into one integrated, regional water provider. For more information, please contact Kevin Straus, SCV WAter communications manager at kstrauss@scvwa.org.