ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
28.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2017 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date:			June 19, 2017	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Kevan Urquhart &	Cost Estimate:	N/A
			Jonathan Lear
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: Notice of Exemption, CEQA, Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1)
ESA Compliance: Consistent with the 2001 Conservation Agreement, 2009 Settlement Agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and California American Water to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel River, and SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2016-0016.

SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take action on the July through September 2017 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California American Water’s (Cal-Am) Main and Laguna Seca Subarea Water Distribution Systems (WDS). The proposed budgets, which are included as Exhibit 28-A and 28-B, show monthly production by source of supply that is required to meet projected customer demand in CalAm’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems, i.e., Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills, during the July through September 2017 period. The proposed strategy and budgets are designed to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the environmental quality of the Seaside Groundwater and Carmel River Basins.

Exhibit 28-A shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am’s Main system for each production source and the actual production values for the Water Year (WY) 2017 to date through the end of May 2017. The anticipated production values assume that Cal-Am’s annual main system production for customer service will not exceed 10,561 acre-feet (AF) in WY 2017, including 2,251 AF from Cal-Am’s wells in the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin, up to 265 AF from Sand City Desalination Plant, up to 1,200 AF recovered from what has been stored so far in WY 2017 by Phase 1 & 2 Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), 305 AF recovered last fall from ASR water injected and stored in the prior WY 2016, and approximately 6,540 AF from the Carmel River Basin. The total from the Carmel River Basin is consistent with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order No. 95-10 and 2016-0016. The total from the Seaside Groundwater Basin is consistent with the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision.

Exhibit 28-B shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am’s Laguna Seca Subarea system for each production source and the actual production values for WY 2017 to date through the end of May 2017. Please note that the budgeted production values assume that Cal-Am’s annual production

for WY 2017 will not exceed 48 AF from the Laguna Seca Subarea of the Seaside Groundwater Basin, whereas actual demand will exceed that amount. This total is consistent with the Seaside Basin adjudication decision.

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 budgets are described in greater detail in Exhibit 28-C, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: July – September 2017.

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 2017. Staff from the District, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and Cal-Am met to cooperatively review, refine and approve this strategy on June 08, 2017. Staff from the State Water Resources Control Board’s, Division of Water Rights (SWRCB-DWR) also attended by phone. Staff from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) were unable to attend.

To meet customer demand in its main system, Cal-Am intends to try to avoid producing any groundwater from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during July through September 2017, and will focus instead on producing approximately 905, 913, and 815 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during July, August, and September 2017, respectively.

It was also agreed that, subject to rainfall and runoff conditions in the Carmel River Basin, Cal-Am would produce 190, 190, and 200 AF of native groundwater each month in July, August, and September 2017, respectively, from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Basin, in addition to 25 AF per month from the Sand City Desalination Plant, and 300 AF per month of stored water from Phase 1 & 2 ASR, during this period. It was also agreed that Cal-Am would budget to produce 5 AF of groundwater each month from its wells in the Laguna Seca Subarea for its customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems during this period. Cal-Am will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream order. If actual inflows are more or less than projected for the budget period, the group will reconvene and adjust the diversion and 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. 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

28-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for CAW Main System: July - September 2017

28-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for CAW Laguna Seca Subarea: July - September 2017

28-C Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report: July - September 2017

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