Project Overview 

The Local Government Commission (LGC) has received funding from the State Water Boards to initiate a collaborative watershed planning process with local partners in Amador and Calaveras Counties. The project is intended to link water resource protection and management with local land use planning efforts. LGC is a non-partisan membership organization that provides inspiration, technical assistance, and networking to local elected officials and other dedicated community leaders. For more information about LGC, visit our website at www.lgc.org.

The goal of this project is to assist in coordinating land use planning, water resource management, and watershed protection efforts within the project area. The project will result in a watershed plan that provides policy language for land planning and design strategies that will help communities accommodate growth while minimizing the impacts of future development on water resources. The planning process will enhance collaboration between stakeholders and increase coordination between water management and land use planning efforts. For more information, see the project activities and outcomes or contact Clark Anderson (916-448-1198 x 329).

Draft Regional Watershed Plan

The project is developing a Regional Watershed Plan focused on aligning water management, watershed planning, community design and local planning policies. A first draft of the plan is ready for review. The draft plan includes discussion of watershed issues, assessments of local conditions and policies, and recommendations. Sections can be downloaded by clicking on the chapters below. 

Chapter 1: Introduction - Project Background and Basic Concepts
Chapter 2: Area Overview and Issues - Trends, Planning and Management Issues, Watershed Descriptions and Issues, Proposed Goals
Chapter 3: Section 1. Maintaining and Utilizing Natural Infrastructure
Chapter 3: Section 2. Community Planning and Design
Chapter 3: Section 3. Sustainable Water Management and Collaborative Planning
Chapter 4: Water Quality Monitoring Plan
Appendix A: Ahwahnee Water Principles
Appendix B: Transfer of Development Rights
Appendix C: Low Impact Development Toolbox

Meeting Agendas and Minutes

Future Amador-Calaveras County Regional Watershed Planning Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) Meeting agendas and past meeting minutes are available for download.

Resources

Studies, plans, policies, articles and general background material that relates to local water and land use issues for the Amador-Calaveras regions are available on the Resources page.  This Resources page currently contains the Regional Watershed Inventory, which is comprised of reports, planning documents, policies, and other documents that relate directly to Amador and Calaveras.  The Resources page also has an Articles section that contains news and journal articles, general background information on the issues, and other documents related to land use and water.