MENDOCINO CO., 4/3/25 – During the height of the pandemic, in the fall of 2021—and not coincidentally, the middle of a historic drought—the California state legislature passed a bill requiring every county to develop a drought resilience plan. Mendocino County formed a drought task force to assess the state of water in Mendocino County, and the task force released its draft plan Mar. 26.
That plan is a stand-alone document to be implemented along with other state, county, and local planning documents. Now the county and the task force are seeking public comment from county residents.
The Drought Resilience Plan (DRP) finds that within the county, 84% of domestic wells and 93% of state-regulated small water systems are at high risk of being impacted by water shortages and droughts, underscoring the importance of preparing for drought in Mendocino County.
For normal and wetter than normal water years, the plan identifies long-term mitigation actions to prepare for future droughts. The DRP also outlines a range of emergency response actions that would be triggered either countywide or regionally (coastal and inland) at moderate and severe stages of drought.
The DRP was developed over months of investigations and meetings
The DRP progressed through four main stages: data collection, vulnerability/risk assessment, identification of short-term response actions and long-term mitigation strategies, and plan implementation. All four sections have now been completed, culminating in a draft DRP that is open for public comment until Apr. 25, 2025.
The public has already contributed to the final report. A survey was posted on the county website, DRP agenda items were presented at the Drought Task Force meetings, and the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) held two well-attended public workshops during which many questions and comments were received.
After the comment period closes on April 25 and comments are reviewed and addressed, a resolution will be brought to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on May 20, 2025, to authorize staff to upload the final DRP to the state’s water resources portal.
Public participation is vital to the success of the DRP. By contributing your insights, experiences, and feedback, you will help shape both immediate and long-term strategies for addressing drought and water shortages. We seek participation from key community stakeholders, including domestic well owners, residents relying on local small water systems, tribes, and public water suppliers. Although all comments are valuable, the specifics of this plan is about domestic water use: domestic wells, small water systems, and water suppliers.
To submit a comment, please complete the General Commenting Form on the county DRP webpage. To allow county staff time to review and respond to comments, all comments must be submitted by Apr. 25, 2025.
For updates and further information about the DRP process, please visit the County Drought Portal and DRP website, and sign up for email updates.
- The draft DRP is available on the Mendocino County Drought Resilience Plan webpage: https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/departments/water-agency/drought-water-conservation/drought-resilience-plan
- Submit a public comment via our online form: https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/departments/water-agency/drought-water-conservation/drought-resilience-plan/drp-general-commenting-form
- Drought resources for community members are available on our Drought Portal, which was revamped in tandem with DRP development: https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/government/mendocino-county-water-agency/drought-water-conservation
- Sign up for DRP updates: https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/departments/water-agency/drought-water-conservation/drought-resilience-plan/get-drp-email-updates