1. Management Objectives

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (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 (CAW) 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 2008

On November 28, 2007, staff from the District, CAW, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), and NMFS met and discussed the proposed water supply strategy and related topics for the remainder of December 2007 and the January-March 2008 period. Currently, flow in the Carmel River is fully regulated, with San Clemente Reservoir drawn down to minimum pool, as required by the Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD), and Los Padres Reservoir at 41% of capacity, i.e., 650 AF. Flow in the Carmel River is discontinuous below river mile 8.3, with a 1.5 mile dry reach near river mile 13.2. Rainfall during Water Year 2008 to date at San Clemente Dam in the upper watershed has totaled 0.7 inches or 25% of the long-term average at this site. Further, runoff at San Clemente Dam for WY 2008 to date has totaled less than 500 AF or only 25% of the long-term average for this site.

Carmel River Basin Given these conditions and the dryness of WY 2007, it was agreed that CAW would continue to operate under “low flow” conditions and divert no surface water from its San Clemente Reservoir and would divert no more than approximately 30 AF of groundwater each month from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley. To meet customer demand, CAW 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 CAW would produce approximately 760, 790, and 970 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during January, February, and March 2008, respectively.

Seaside Groundwater Basin It was also agreed that CAW would continue production from the Seaside Basin in January (150 AF) and February (50 AF). Ideally, during this period, CAW would cease production from the Coastal Subareas and allow the Seaside Basin to recharge. However, due to the possibility of continued dry conditions and production limitations in the Lower Carmel Valley, some production from the Seaside Basin will likely be needed and is included for January and February. If normal rainfall occurs, then CAW’s production from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Basin in January and February will be shifted back to the LCV. Production for this quarter (200 AF) is consistent with the annual production limit specified in the 2006 Seaside Basin adjudication decision for the Coastal Subareas (3,504 AF).

Lastly, it was assumed that no water would be diverted from the Carmel River Basin and injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin during the January–March 2008 period. As discussed above, because of the uncertainty in predicting future rainfall and runoff amounts, this assumption is subject to change. If favorable hydrologic conditions occur and mean daily streamflow in the Carmel River exceeds the instream flow requirements specified by NMFS, then diversions for injection will be made.

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