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ITEM: |
PUBLIC HEARING |
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21. |
CONSIDER ADOPTION
OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2011 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET |
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Meeting Date: |
June 20, 2011 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
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Program/ |
N/A |
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General Manager |
Line Item No.: |
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Prepared By: |
Kevan Urquhart |
Cost Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Review: N/A |
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Committee
Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance: Notice
of Exemption, CEQA, Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1) |
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ESA Compliance:
Consistent with the September 2001 and February 2009 Conservation
Agreements between the National Marine Fisheries Service and California
American Water to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel River and
Consistent with SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002,
and 2009-0060. |
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SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take
action on the July through September 2011 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and
Budget for California American Water’s (Cal-Am) Main and Laguna Seca Subarea Water
Distribution Systems (WDS). The proposed
budget, which is included as Exhibits 21-A
and 21-B, shows monthly production by
source of supply that is required to meet projected customer demand in Cal-Am’s
Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems, i.e.,
Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills, during the July through September 2011
period. The proposed strategy and
budget is designed to maximize the long-term production potential and protect
the environmental quality of the Seaside Groundwater and
Exhibit 21-A shows the anticipated production
by Cal-Am’s Main system for each production source and the actual production
values for the water year to date through the end of May 2011. Please note that the anticipated production
values assume that Cal-Am’s annual Main system production will not exceed 13,631
acre-feet (AF), including 4,613 AF from the coastal subareas of the Seaside
Groundwater Basin and 9,018 AF from the Carmel River Basin. The total from the Carmel River Basin is
consistent with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Water Rights Order
Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and
2009-0060, and the total from the
Exhibit 21-B shows the anticipated production
by Cal-Am’s Laguna Seca Subarea system for each production source and the
actual production values for the water year to date through the end of May 2011. Please note that the anticipated production
values assume that Cal-Am’s annual Laguna Seca Subarea systems’ production will
not exceed 246 AF from the Laguna Seca Subarea of the Seaside Groundwater
Basin. This total is consistent with the
RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive public input, close
the Public Hearing, and discuss the proposed quarterly water supply
budget. District staff recommends
adoption of the proposed budget. The
budget is described in greater detail in Exhibit 21-C, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy
Report: July – September 2011.
BACKGROUND:
The Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget pertains to production
within Cal-Am’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems for the three-month period
of July, August, and September 2011. Staff
from the District, Cal-Am, and NMFS cooperatively developed this strategy on June
9, 2011. Staff from the California
Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) was not available to attend the meeting, but
were briefed and concurred on June 13, 2011.
Based on current reservoir and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer storage conditions,
and the significant rainfall that has occurred to date, it was agreed that “wet”
year inflows would be used to assess Cal-Am’s operations and set monthly
production targets for Cal-Am’s systems for the next quarter.
To
meet customer demand in its main system, Cal-Am will produce 0 AF of
groundwater from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during July, August, and
September 2011. Similarly, Cal-Am
will produce approximately 960, 885, and 753 AF of groundwater from its wells
in the Lower Carmel Valley during July, August, and September,
respectively. The permitted diversion
season for ASR ended May 31, and does not begin again until December 1 of this
year, which is during the next Water Year, 2012.
It
was also agreed that, subject to rainfall and runoff conditions in the Carmel
River Basin, Cal-Am would produce 525, 595, and 595 AF each month,
respectively, from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Basin, during this
period. Each month’s production from the
Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin would be comprised of either
500 or 570 AF of native groundwater, combined with 25 AF of treated brackish
groundwater production from the Sand City Desalination Plant. Recovery of the 1,117 AF of ASR water
diverted to storage in WY 2011 will be delayed until the next Quarterly Water
Supply Strategy and Budget (i.e., first quarter of WY 2012). In addition, it was also agreed that Cal-Am
should produce only 30, 30, and 28 AF of groundwater from its wells in the
Laguna Seca Subarea for its customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden
Hills systems during July, August, and September 2011, respectively. Lastly, it was agreed that Cal-Am would not
divert any water from San Clemente Reservoir through the Carmel Valley Filter
Plant during this quarter. Cal-Am will
operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream
order. If actual natural river inflows
are less than projected for the budget period, the group will reconvene and
adjust the Los Padres Dam release rates accordingly.
Rule
101, Section B of the District Rules and Regulations requires that a Public
Hearing be held at the time of determination of the District water supply
management strategy. Notice of this
Public Hearing has been published in The Herald. Adoption of the quarterly water supply
strategy and budget is categorically exempt from the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) requirements as per Article 19, Section 15301 (Class
1). A Notice of Exemption will be filed
with the Monterey County Clerk's office, pending Board action on this item.
EXHIBITS
21-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and
Budget for Cal-Am Main System: July - September
2011
21-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy
and Budget for Cal-Am Subsystems: July - September 2011
21-C Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget
Report: July - September 2011
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2011\20110620\PubHrng\21\item21.docx