Quarterly
Water Supply Strategy Report: July-September 2003
June
16, 2003
1. Management Objectives
The
District desires to maximize the long-term production potential, protect the
environmental quality of the Seaside and Carmel Valley basins, and meet the
regulations in the Section 4(d) Rule adopted by the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), which prohibits, “removing water or otherwise altering
streamflow when it significantly impairs spawning, migration, feeding, or other
essential behavioral patterns [of steelhead].” To accomplish these goals, a water supply
strategy and budget for production within the Cal-Am water distribution system
is reviewed quarterly to determine the optimal strategy for operations, given
the current hydrologic and system conditions.
2. Quarterly
Water Supply Strategy: July - September 2002
On
June 3, 2003, staff from the District, Cal-Am, and NMFS met to discuss the
proposed water supply strategy for the July-September 2003 period. California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG)
staff is normally present, but were reassigned to another high priority
task. As noted previously,
representatives from the District, Cal-Am, CDFG and the NMFS met on April 30,
2003, to negotiate the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement (2003 MOA) that governs the
releases and diversions from Los Padres and San Clemente Reservoirs during the
May-December 2003 period. Accordingly,
the diversion and release rates specified for the July-September 2003 Water Supply
Strategy and Budget are consistent with the terms and assumed inflow conditions
in the proposed 2003 MOA. Actual inflows
may be significantly less than projected, so the group is planning to reconvene
and adjust the release rates accordingly.
Based
on the runoff that has occurred since the beginning of WY 2003, it was agreed
that the projections for the upcoming quarter would be set equal to the
projections assumed for the proposed 2003 MOA.
Accordingly, Table 1 shows
a monthly breakdown of the diversion and release schedule under the assumed
near-normal inflow conditions. Table 1
shows expected inflows, outflows, and storage volumes at Los Padres and San
Clemente Reservoirs for the July-September 2003 period. For this analysis, it was assumed that Cal-Am
would divert no water via direct diversion from San Clemente Reservoir to the
Carmel Valley Filter Plant, consistent with the 4d rules adopted by the NMFS to
protect steelhead, State Water Resources Control Board Water Order WRO
2002-0002 and the Conservation Agreement between NMFS and Cal-Am, which governs
diversions during the low-flow period.
As described above, the low-flow period is defined as times when
streamflow in the Carmel River at the MPWMD gage at Don Juan Bridge is less
than 20 cfs for five consecutive days, which should occur during the last week
of June 2003. Based on projected
inflows, streamflow is expected to be less than the 20 cfs threshold throughout
the remainder of WY 2003.
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2003\2003boardpacket\20030616\PublicHearings\21\item21_exh21b.doc