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Monterey Peninsula Water Management District DRAFT 2013 Annual Report |
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EXHIBIT
18-A |
· Monterey
Peninsula Water Supply Project - Working
jointly with California American Water (Cal-Am), the Monterey Peninsula
Regional Water Authority, and 13 other interveners developed a framework for settlement
of the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project application.
· Funding for
Desalination - Introduced legislation
for financing the project in a manner to reduce impacts on ratepayers for the
Cal-Am desalination facility. Also
provided funding for environmental and permitting work on an alternative
desalination facility.
·
· Aquifer
Storage and Recovery (ASR) - Working
in cooperation with California American Water, MPWMD diverted 294 acre-feet (AF)
of Carmel River Basin water during the 2012-13 winter season, stored this water
in the Seaside Groundwater Basin at the Water Project 1 and 2 sites and
extracted this water for community water supply use during the summer months of
2013. Since inception of the ASR program, a total
of 4,771 AF has been diverted from the Carmel River for storage and subsequent
recovery.
MPWMD
continued work on construction of appurtenant facilities at the second phase of
the ASR program, expected to be completed in 2014.
· Water Rights - Commented on water rights permits issued by the
State Water Resources Control Board for Carmel River diversions. Began development of a scope of work to
update instream flow needs for steelhead in the Carmel River.
· Well
Permitting - After reviews for
potential impacts to the water resource system and other water users, MPWMD
issued 17 water distribution system permits for private properties with rights
to percolating groundwater.
· State
Mandated Water Management Plans - Completed
a project solicitation as part of an update of the Integrated Regional Water
Management Plan for the Carmel Bay, Monterey Peninsula and Southern Monterey
Bay. MPWMD solicited input from
stakeholders in the Ord Community on regional goals and objectives, launched an
interactive web site, continued
assessment of fish passage barriers in the Carmel Valley, and began work
on an integrated surface water-groundwater model of the Carmel River
Basin. Work is expected to be completed
in spring 2014 and is partially funded with $1 million from a Proposition 84
planning grant from the California Department of Water Resources.
· State-Mandated
Carmel River Mitigation and Stewardship - Completed a review of the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility
intake with the National Marine Fisheries Service and California Department of
Fish and Wildlife. The facility will
undergo analysis and reconstruction of the intake system in order to protect
the facility from changes in river flows due to the removal of San Clemente Dam
and to allow the facility to continue to run during periods of extreme drought.
Successfully
rescued 42,805 wild steelhead from the drying reaches of the Carmel River. Many of the fish were placed into the Sleepy
Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility. By October
2013, staff released 9,976 fish from the rearing facility into the lower river.
Planted
native trees on the banks of the Carmel River to improve habitat value and
reduce bank erosion.
Obtained
a 10-year Regional General Permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for
restoration and erosion prevention projects along the Carmel River.
Completed
vegetation management activities in the active channel of the Carmel River to
reduce the risk of streambank erosion along riverfront properties where
vegetation encroachment could potentially divert river flows into streambanks
during high flow periods.
Removed
trash and plastic below major bridges along the Carmel River before winter
rains and high flows washed the debris onto the riverbanks or into the ocean.
Participated
in a workshop and follow-up Carmel River field inspection with local, State,
and Federal scientists interested in setting up a plan for long-term monitoring
of the effects to the Carmel River from removal of the San Clemente Dam.
· Los Padres
Dam Improvements – Worked with
Shibatani and Associates to develop the “Los Padres Dam and Reservoir Long-Term
Strategic and Short-Term Tactical Plan.”
· Conservation - Revised conservation/water efficiency requirements,
including non-residential retrofit requirements and promoted commercial rebates
to non-residential water users required to retrofit by December 31, 2013.
Approved
over 2,000 rebate applications totaling over $892,000 for annual savings of 57.4
acre-feet of water.
Hosted
greywater and rainwater seminars and “Laundry to Landscape” programs
· Financial
Performance - MPWMD received a clean
financial audit report with no material weakness or deficiencies. The audit for fiscal year 2012-2013 was
conducted by an independent auditing firm.
In
2013, MPWMD secured $4 million loan to refinance previously expended ASR costs,
replenish reserves, and help pay for future ASR related costs.
· Community
Outreach - Continued outreach with
presentations to freshman biology classes from Carmel High School, seniors of
Environmental Science classes from Robert Louis Stevenson School, graduate
school classes at CSUMB in Watershed Science and Policy, the California
Naturalist program, and to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Topics
included information on the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System, MPWMD’s
Environmental Protection Program, the Carmel River steelhead life cycle,
specific issues related to the Carmel River watershed, proposed desalination
facilities around Monterey Bay, and water conservation .
Executed two newsletters on
District activities, over 30 presentations to community groups and City
Councils, several guest opinions in local media, sponsored and developed a
presence on Facebook.
Total revenues received in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 were
$14,329,159, of which $4,000,000 was from loan proceeds, while expenditures
totaled $7,525,333, generating an increase in fund balance of $6,803,826. As of June 30, 2013, the District’s total
fund balance was $6,733,057.
The budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 anticipates
revenues of $15,319,714 and expenditures of $15,319,714, which is a balanced
budget. The total amount budgeted for completion of ASR 1 is $1,492,376; ASR 2
work is budgeted at $2,074,853; Ground Water Replenishment work is budgeted at
$2,717,500; and alternate desalination project is budgeted at $400,000. The budget also includes $595,000 in funding
for preliminary work on various other water projects. ASR Projects 1 & 2 are wells and
appurtenances for underground water storage and recovery.
Future
Financing Methods
The District has
historically paid for costs associated with water supply projects on a pay-as-you-go
basis with the majority of the funding coming from user fees, which was the
District’s largest and most fluid revenue source. The User Fee revenue from Cal-Am customers is
currently not available to the District.
With the establishment of the Water Supply Charge, the District now
funds its water supply projects from this new funding source. The District also uses a line of credit to
provide additional funding for preliminary costs of current and future
potential water supply projects. Possible sources of funds to pay for actual
construction of future water supply projects include ongoing revenue increases,
water supply charge, new revenue categories, grants, and bond financing. Actual
funding sources would be dependent on the type of project, the amount of
funding needed and other variables.
Present & Future
Water Requirements
Present
Water Requirements: In Water
Year 2013, California American Water (Cal-Am) produced 11,622 acre-feet (AF) of
water to satisfy water demand, comprised of 7,713 AF from the Carmel River, 3,721
AF from the Seaside Basin and 188 AF from the Sand City Desalination Facility.
Available
Water Supplies: In Water
Year 2013, 13,003 AF of water were legally available in the Carmel River and
Seaside Groundwater Basins to serve Cal-Am customers within the District. Similarly, approximately 4,710 AF of water were
assumed to be available to serve non-Cal-Am users extracting water from the
Carmel Valley Aquifer and the Seaside Basin.
In
its revised application to the California Public Utilities Commission for the
Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project, Cal-Am has sought to incorporate replenishment of the Seaside
Basin, as well as potential demand for build-out in Pebble Beach, the potential
“bounce back” in tourism resulting from economic recovery and utilizing
existing visitor-serving capacity, and legal lots of record. Therefore, there is a required demand of
15,296 acre-feet.
Requirements
for Future Capital Improvements: Based on the stated future demands discussed
above, the resulting desalination
facility size is 6,252 AF with Pure Water Monterey Groundwater Replenishment
(GWR), or 9,752 AF without GWR. The groundwater
replenishment project expected to create 3,500 AFY of new supply is being
sponsored by the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency which has
developed an implementation plan for completion by 2017. The MPWMD Board of
Directors unanimously approved developing an agreement between the District,
MRWPCA, and Cal-Am whereby the District would fund 75% of that project,
purchase product water to store in the ground, and sell recovered water to
Cal-Am.
Aquifer Storage and Recovery is expected
to be doubled in capacity by 2016, to almost 3,000 AFY and is being developed
jointly by the District and Cal-Am. However, until permit conditions are
modified subsequent to the future lifting of the Cease and Desist Order, not
all ASR capacity is reliably available in dry years, hence cannot all be
counted upon to offset unlawful diversions. The District continues to develop
plans for additional ASR opportunities for future water supply.
Groundwater
Charge
Groundwater Zone: In June
1980, the District Board approved formation of a groundwater charge zone
including all District territory, except portions of the District lying within
the City of Sand City. The District-wide groundwater zone was formed to provide
the legal basis for a comprehensive well-monitoring program consisting of well
registration, well metering, and water production reporting.
Formation of the
groundwater charge zone was not intended to generate revenues and it was
acknowledged that no groundwater charge would be levied for the production of
any naturally occurring groundwater. Accordingly, it is recommended that no
groundwater charge be levied in any zone of the District during Water Year 2013.
U:\staff\Boardpacket\2014\20140421\PubHrng\18\item18_exh18a.docx
5 Harris Court, Building G, Monterey,
CA 93940 — P.O. Box 85, Monterey, CA 93942-0085
831-658-5600 — Fax 831-644-9560 — http://www.mpwmd.net