Final State Water Resources Plan Published

The 2020 State Water Resources Plan (State Plan) is now available. DEQ released a draft of the State Plan and sought public comment from June 28, 2021 through Sept. 13,  2021.

The Final 2020 State Plan incorporates several changes made to the draft in response to comments received. It also includes a new Appendix (Appendix D), which summarizes comments received and DEQ's responses.  

DEQ has begun planning a process to further communicate the 2020 State Plan’s findings across the Commonwealth.  DEQ will provide more information on efforts to meet with local and regional planning partners as soon as possible.  If you or a group you represent would benefit from a more detailed discussion of the information included in the State Plan,  please contact us to express your interest.

What is the State Water Resources Plan? 

The State Water Resources Plan (State Plan) is published at five-year intervals and compiles information provided to DEQ by localities through Local and Regional Water Supply Plans, Annual Water Withdrawal Reporting, and Surface & Groundwater permitting into a central document.

DEQ analyzes this information by completing Cumulative Impact Analysis (CIA) modeling of surface water and groundwater resources. The first State Plan was published in 2015. The draft 2020 State Plan includes water demands for 2020 and projections of future use through 2040. Advances in CIA modeling include new flow metrics and the addition of several new modeling scenarios that evaluate the potential impacts of climate change. The 2020 State Plan also includes 20 distinct regional analyses conducted at river basin scale which allow the evaluation of results beyond the statewide trends.