PRESS RELEASE

YOLO COUNTY DRAFT DROUGHT RESILIENCE PLAN

Yolo County is inviting public input on its draft Yolo County Drought Resilience Plan, which outlines how the County and partner agencies will address water supply vulnerabilities affecting domestic wells and state small water systems.

In September 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 552 (SB 552), which requires state and local governments to share responsibility for planning and responding to water shortage events, with a focus on rural communities and state small water systems. SB 552 identifies counties as the most appropriate entities to lead efforts to improve water resilience for residents reliant on domestic wells and small water systems.

Under SB 552, all counties in California must prepare a County Drought Resilience Plan (County DRP) to support long-term water reliability and resilience. The legislation also directs counties to establish an ongoing County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force to promote continued drought planning and coordination.

In October 2023, Yolo County received a grant for technical assistance from the California Department of Water Resources Drought Resilience Planning Assistance Program. This funding supports technical analysis and community engagement to better identify vulnerabilities and risks related to water shortages. Development of this plan is a collaborative, multi-agency and multi-departmental effort designed to create a proactive and comprehensive approach to drought preparedness.

The draft Yolo County Drought Resilience Plan focuses on four primary components: countywide data collection; assessment of vulnerabilities and risks related to water shortages and drought; identification of short-term response actions; and development of long-term mitigation strategies to improve water resilience across Yolo County.

Once finalized, the plan will be adopted by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors as an annex to the 2024-2029 Yolo County Hazard Mitigation Plan. Yolo County will implement the plan in close coordination with the Yolo County Drought and Water Shortage Task Force, water suppliers, and managers throughout the county.

The draft Yolo County Drought Resilience Plan is available on the Yolo County website under the Office of Emergency Services Hazard Mitigation section. Public comments may be submitted by January 30, 2026, via email to Sabrina.Snyder@YoloCounty.gov.