Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and
Budget Report
California American Water
Main Water Distribution System: January –
March 2007
December 11, 2006
1. Management
Objectives
The
District desires to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the
environmental quality of the Carmel River and Seaside Groundwater 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 Groundwater Basin while complying with the instream flow
requirements recommended by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to
protect the Carmel River steelhead population.
To accomplish these goals, a water supply strategy and budget for
production within the California American Water (Cal-Am) main 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 2007
On
December 7, 2006, staff from the District, Cal-Am, NMFS, and California
Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) discussed the proposed water supply strategy
and related topics for the remainder of December 2006 and the January-March
2007 period. Currently, flow in the
Carmel River is regulated and maintained by releases from Los Padres
Reservoir. As of November 30, 2006, Los
Padres Reservoir is at 52% total storage capacity (811 acre-feet [AF]) and Carmel River flow at the District
gaging station at the Don Juan Bridge in Garland Park is approximately 9 cubic
feet per second (cfs). The front of the Carmel River is at River Mile 5.2, near
the golf cart bridge at Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club. For the first two months of Water Year 2007
(October and November 2006), rainfall at San Clemente Dam in the upper
watershed has totaled 1.32 inches or 46% of the long-term average at this
site.
Carmel
River Basin Given these conditions
and the assumption that “normal year” inflows (median or 50% exceedence frequency
values[1])
are expected to occur during the January - March 2007 period, it was agreed
that Cal-Am would divert no surface water from its San Clemente Reservoir and
would divert approximately 60, 80, and 100 AF of groundwater from its wells in
the Upper Carmel Valley. These amounts
are based on the monthly production from the Upper Carmel Valley that Cal-Am
has averaged over the past five years (WY 2002 - 2006). To meet customer demand and the injection
requirements in the Seaside Basin, Cal-Am would operate its wells in the Lower
Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream sequence, as needed. For the quarterly budget, it was agreed that
Cal-Am would produce approximately 1,020, 970, and 1,110 AF of groundwater from
its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during January, February, and March 2007,
respectively.
Seaside
Groundwater Basin It was also agreed
that Cal-Am would minimize production from the Seaside Basin during the January
- March 2007 period consistent with SWRCB Order No. 98-04 and produce no water
from the coastal subareas when flow in the Carmel River at the Highway 1 Bridge
exceeds 40 cfs. Lastly, it was assumed that approximately 135, 185, and 205 AF
water would be diverted from the Carmel River Basin and injected into the
Seaside Groundwater Basin during the January – March 2007 period. These quantities are based on the assumptions
that 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm) (2.2 cfs of 4.4 AF per day) could be
injected diverted and injected throughout January and that 1,500 gpm (3.3 cfs
of 6.6 AF per day) could be injected diverted and injected throughout February
and March. The increase in the injection rate in February and March is based on
the assumption that the District’s second aquifer storage and recovery (ASR)
well (Santa Margarita Test Injection Well #2) has been completed and is
available for injection.
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2006\2006boardpackets\20061211\PubHrgs\14\item14_exh14b.doc
[1] The median monthly flows of the Carmel
River at the San Clemente Dam site for January, February, and March are
approximately 6,400, 9,650, and 11,490 AF, respectively.