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2014 -2021 SANTA ANA HOUSING ELEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY ELEMENT UPDATES CITY OF SANTA ANA 3. Environmental Analysis According to the CalFire "Orange County Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in LRN' map, the entire City of Santa Ana as well as its neighboring cities of Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Orange, Tustin, and Costa Mesa are all out of the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) (CAL FIRE 2011). Therefore, the project would not create any hazards arising from wildland fires and no impact would occur. 3.9 HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY a) Violate any water quality standards or waste discharge requirements? Less Than Significant Impact. The Housing Element designates adequate sites for potential future development that could accommodate any unmet portion of the RHNA through 2021. As these potential sites are developed, wastewater would be discharged into the local sewer system and on -site drainage would flow into the City's existing storm drain system. As part of Section 402 of the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established regulations under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ( NPDES) program to control direct stormwater discharges. Future development would be required to comply with the NPDES program and the standards under the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (SARWQCB). Additionally, through the City's development review process, future projects would be evaluated for potential water quality impacts. Where needed, future development projects would be required to prepare water quality plans and /or incorporate best management practices (BMP) into their construction operations to reduce potential water quality impacts. Impacts to water quality due to the adoption of the Housing Element would be less than significant. b) Substantially deplete groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge such that there would be a net deficit in aquifer volume or a lowering of the local groundwater table level (e.g., the production rate of pre- existing nearby wells would drop to a level which would not support existing land uses or planned uses for which permits have been granted)? Less Than Significant Impact. Water supply in the City is derived from local groundwater wells operated and maintained by the City of Santa Ana Water Department and imported water from the Orange County Water District. The 2010 Urban Water Management Plan states that existing water supplies can continue to meet the City's water demands in normal, single dry, and multiple dry years between 2013 and 2035 (Santa Ana 2011). The anticipated development under the Housing Element update could increase water consumption in the City as well as increase dependence on local and imported supplies of groundwater. Any future development would be subject to CEQA review and potential impacts to groundwater supply and recharge would be analyzed. Impacts to groundwater due to the adoption of the Housing Element would be less than Significant. c) Substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river, in a manner which would result in a substantial erosion or siltation on- or off -site. Less Than Significant Impact. The City of Santa Ana is relatively flat and erosion is not anticipated to be substantial during construction or operation of developments anticipated by the Housing Element, Each December 2013 the Planning Center I DC&E • Page 55 75A -77