EXHIBIT 13-B

 

 

Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report

California American Water, Water Distribution System: January – March 2006

 

                                                              December 12, 2005

 

 

1.         Management Objectives

 

The District desires to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the environmental quality of the Carmel River and Seaside Ground Water Basins.  In addition, the District desires to maximize the amount of water that can be diverted from the Carmel River Basin and injected into the Seaside Ground Water Basin while complying with the instream flow requirements recommended by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to protect steelhead, red-legged frogs and other aquatic resources in the Carmel River.  To accomplish these goals, a water supply strategy and budget for production within the California American Water (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: January – March 2006

 

On December 1, 2005, staff from the District, Cal-Am, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) discussed the proposed water supply strategy and related topics for the remainder of December 2005 and the January – March 2006 period.  In addition, the California Department of Fish and Game reviewed a draft of the proposed water budget and operations schedule.  As of November 30, 2005, Los Padres Reservoir was drawn down to elevation 1,009.40 feet with 502 AF of storage, the Carmel River unimpaired inflow at San Clemente Dam was approximately 11 cubic feet per second (cfs), and the drying riverfront was located at Cal-Am’s San Carlos Well at River Mile 3.9 (RM 3.9).

 

Based on the higher than projected runoff that has occurred since the beginning of WY 2006 and an expectation of additional rainfall and runoff in December 2005, the group agreed to set the projected unimpaired monthly flows at San Clemente Dam for the January through March 2006 to the low-end of the normal range, which is equivalent to flows that have been exceeded 62.5% of the time during the simulated reconstructed historical record (1902-2005).   In addition, staff reviewed the inflow to date through November 30, 2005, and decided to use inflow levels at the 62.5% exceedance level for the remainder of December 2005.  Accordingly, Table 1 shows a monthly breakdown of the diversion and release schedule based on the assumption that unimpaired inflows at San Clemente Dam will equal 1,536 Acre-Feet (AF) in December, 4,559 AF in January, 6,057 AF in February and 7,359 AF in March. Table 1 lists actual or expected inflows, outflows, and storage volumes at Los Padres and San Clemente Reservoirs for the October 2005 through March 2006 period.  For this analysis, it was assumed that Cal-Am would not directly divert water 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.[1]  During December 2005 and January – March 2006, actual inflows may be significantly more or less than projected. If so, the group will reconvene and adjust the operations accordingly.

 

For the Seaside Basin, it was agreed that in the January-March 2006 quarter, Cal-Am will produce a total of 184 AF, with all of the production in January 2006. These levels will help to conserve aquatic habitats in the Carmel River and constrain annual withdrawals from the Seaside Basin, and are consistent with a goal of reducing Cal-Am’s annual production in the Seaside Basin by 6 %, from the 1995-2005 average of 3,748 AF/yr to 3,518 AF/yr. In anticipation of re-issuance of the District’s temporary water appropriations permit to divert Carmel River water and inject it into the Seaside Basin, it is assumed that a total of 327 AF will be diverted and injected during the January – March 2006 period. 

 

 

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12/8/2005 5:22 PM

 

 



[1] 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 occurred on July 20, 2005.  Based on projected inflows, streamflow is expected to be less than the 20 cfs threshold in October and November. In December, inflows may increase above the threshold, but the timing of this event and the continuance of the 2005 San Clemente Interim Drawdown Project into December may preclude any significant change in operations.