Bond Act: Proposition 1E
Agency of Appropriation: Department of Water Resources
Bond Statute: 5096.821
- Front-end
- In-progress
- Follow-up (Audit)
The Department of Water Resources is the lead State agency for flood emergency response, including flood fight assistance, in California. The Flood Operations Center (FOC) serves as the Department’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and leads the flood emergency operations response. While the California Emergency Services Act reaffirms the authority of the Governor’s California Emergency Management Agency to “coordinate and supervise State action upon a declaration of a State emergency,” California Water Code Section 128(a) describes the Department’s separate, permissive authority.
The California Emergency Services Act, specifically Government Code Section 8607, provides the Department with broad authority to fully participate in all aspects of emergency response within the Standardized Emergency Management System structure.
The Hydrology and Flood Operations Office has developed the following two projects under the Flood Emergency Response Program (an element of the FloodSAFE Program):
· Updated Hydrology with Climate Change and System Re-Operation
· Delta Flood Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Strategic Work Plan
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The Department has prepared a strategic plan for implementation of the Flood Emergency Response Program. Projects were selected based on the needs identified in the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Work Plan includes the scope, budget, and schedule for completion of each project. In addition, a detailed Project Management Plan has also been prepared for the Delta Flood Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Project. The Strategic Work Plan outlines “Performance Measures” and defines specific deliverables as well as Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-bound (SMART) objectives for each project. The needs for the projects, scope of work, and a capital outlay plan have been, or will be, submitted through a Budget Change Proposal to the Governor’s Office and the Legislature for review and approval.
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Project Objectives
The objective of the Updated Hydrology with Climate Change and System Re-Operation project is to update the hydrology of the Central Valley streams and to evaluate climate change and its impact on hydrology.
The Updated Hydrology with Climate Change Project was developed by an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps. The scope of work, schedule, and the budget for the project have been negotiated, agreed upon, and codified through the cooperative agreement. The project’s progress will be monitored by Department staff on a regular basis.
The objectives of the Delta Flood Preparedness, Response, and Recovery project include:
· Protecting lives, property, and infrastructure critical to the Delta and the State’s economy
· Protecting water quality and restoration of the water supply for Delta water users and water export operations
· Minimizing the implementation impact of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery measures on environmental resources
· Integrating the Department’s flood emergency response with the local agencies’ emergency operation plans in the Delta
The Delta Flood Preparedness, Response, and Recovery project will be implemented in collaboration with local emergency responders in the Delta, the Governor’s California Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Department has prepared a detailed “Management Plan” for the project that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of all parties and a detailed project scope of work, schedule, and budget. A “Working Group” has been established to guide the implementation of the project and is composed of the staff from the following agencies:
· Department Delta program managers
· Governor’s California Emergency Management Agency representatives
· Five-County Emergency Response representatives (Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo)
· U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
· Local Maintaining Agency representatives
A process is also being developed to ensure the public, Delta water users, and other state and local agencies provide input into the project implementation. Extensive working group meetings will be scheduled throughout implementation of the projects to ensure stakeholder’s input is sought.
Performance Standards
The Strategic Work Plan outlines performance measures and defines specific deliverables and SMART objectives. Quarterly review of work in progress will include review of the work performed to ensure project implementation outcome is consistent with the defined performance standards established for the project.
Compliance and Reporting
The Department will report its bond expenditures to the public via the bond accountability Web site. It wil
The following in-progress accountability procedures have been instituted:
· The Strategic Work Plan and the Management Plan include project schedules and deliverables. Throughout the project implementation, progress will be checked against the Strategic Work Plan’s schedule, scope of work, and deliverables to ensure projects stay on schedule and on budget.
· Monthly briefings are conducted at the Office level to review progress. This includes project expenditures, accomplishments, changes in scope, and current schedule.
· Project updates are submitted for inclusion with the quarterly reports that DWR submits on bond expenditures and any changes in scope, cost, or schedule are reflected on the website maintained for projects funded by Propositions 1E and 84.
· A program tracking system has been developed to monitor work in progress and to track the expenditures for each project on a monthly basis. A semi-annual progress report will be prepared to show work in progress as well as project expenditures.
· Bond funding is requested from the Department of Finance based on quarterly cash flow projections provided by the project manager and compiled within DWR for all programs.
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The Department has organized a FloodSAFE Program Management Office to document policies and procedures for bond accountability.
Financial controls also include reviewing the scope of the project, prior to requesting Proposition 1E and 84 funds to ensure the project is eligible for bond funding, as well as having all contracts (and their task orders) for professional services reviewed by the Division of Engineering to ensure compliance with State contracting procedures.
During project implementation, regular meetings will be conducted with all agencies involved to ensure projects move forward according to established scope of work, schedule, budget, and are consistent with processes that have been established in the Strategic Work Plan. The goal will be to make sure the final project deliverables are consistent with the deliverables defined in the Strategic Work Plan and meet the intended results.
For the Delta Flood Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Project, the Working Group will review the work in progress and ensure the final deliverables are consistent with the agreed upon scope of work on a monthly basis so there are no surprises at the end. The project will achieve the intended outcome as outlined in the Management Plan. A report called “DWR Delta Flood Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Plan” will be prepared documenting the work completed and defining a clear relationship with and responsibilities for local, State, and federal agencies in the event of flood emergency incidents in the Delta. The report will be available for public review on the Department’s website.
An independent technical review (ITR) of results for climate variability analysis will be conducted for the Updated Hydrology with Climate Change and System Re-Operations Program. Upon completion of this project a report presenting the results of the hydrology update will be prepared by the Corps.
Following completion of the project the Project Manger will oversee a close-out audit which includes: a project completion report that documents the project deliverables, final expenditures, and how the project implementation met the project objectives and performance measures. The content of all deliverables will be checked against the description of deliverables listed in the contract before final payment is approved.
The Natural Resources Agency will obtain an independent audit of the bonds through the annual Department of Finance, Office of State Audits and Evaluations (OSAE) audit of bond expenditures.
Projects within this Program: