Welcome to Fremont Basin IRWM
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) brings together the public agencies and stakeholders of a California region in order to collaboratively manage all the components of its water resources, including water supply and quality, wastewater collection and treatment, recycled water, stormwater, flood control, and watershed and habitat management. An IRWM Plan covers a wide range of water resource management strategies, examines the regional benefits of these strategies, and identifies regional priorities for implementing projects. The California Water Code, Section 10534, defines an IRWM Plan as:
“A comprehensive plan for a defined geographic area, the specific development, content, and adoption of which shall satisfy requirements pursuant to this part. At a minimum, an IRWM Plan describes the major water-related objectives and conflicts within a region, considers a broad variety of resource management strategies, identifies the appropriate mix of water demand and supply management alternatives, water quality protections, and environmental stewardship actions to provide long-term, reliable, and high-quality water supplies and protect the environment, and identifies disadvantaged communities in the region and takes the water-related needs of those communities into consideration."
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has created IRWM Grant Programs in order to provide funding for regions during the planning and implementation phases of IRWM and for stormwater and flood management. More information about Integrated Regional Water Management is available on DWR’s website. The Fremont Valley Basin IRWM Region was formally accepted as an IRWM region by the California Department of Water Resources in 2011 through the Region Acceptance Process. In 2014, the City of California City, Mojave Public Utilities District, and Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency formed the Fremont Basin Regional Water Management Group (RWMG) to facilitate collaboration and coordination in the Region. The RWMG began developing the Region’s first IRWM Plan in spring 2017 following the award of planning grant funding through the IRWM grant program. As part of the IRWM Plan development, the Region is also developing a Groundwater Management Plan and a Salt and Nutrient Management Plan for the Fremont Valley Groundwater Basin. The Region’s final IRWM Plan was completed in February 2019, at which time the RWMG will adopt the IRWM Plan.
The IRWM planning process includes identifying regional water management objectives, holding a Call for Projects, prioritizing those projects, providing current information about the region, and adding the results of new analyses such as a climate change vulnerability assessment, Salt and Nutrient Management Plan, and a Groundwater Management Plan.
Participation from stakeholders and the public is an important aspect of the IRWM Program. Several opportunities for stakeholder and public participation are planned, and information on how to participate will be updated on the Fremont Basin IRWM webpage as it becomes available.