WATER DEMAND COMMITTEE MEETING
ITEM:		ACTION ITEMS
2.	PROGRESS REPORT ON EVALUATION OF WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS IN FRACTURED ROCK
Meeting Date:			June 18, 2010	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Henrietta Stern	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: Counsel has not reviewed this staff note.
Committee Recommendation: N/A—This is a progress report only.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: As directed at the March 26, 2010 Water Demand Committee (WDC) meeting, District staff will provide an update on tasks associated with review of wells in fractured rock formations, as well as coordination with the Monterey County Health Department (MCHD). A WDC meeting had been scheduled for May 20, 2010, but was postponed until June 18, 2010.

Pilot Study Of Wells in Fractured Rock: The highlight of the June 18, 2010 WDC meeting will be a 15-20 minute technical presentation by District staff on its pilot study of wells in the Carmel Woods, Carmel Views and Aguajito areas. This is the general area north of Carmel Valley Road, and somewhat adjacent to Highway One on both sides. An extensive data mining effort has taken place since late March 2010, and trends are beginning to become evident. As part of the presentation, staff will make suggestions regarding expansion of this program to other areas within the District. Staff will request that the WDC make a recommendation to the full board as part of a future agenda item and/or the annual budget. Handouts and related materials will be provided at the June 18, 2010 WDC meeting.

MPWMD Ordinance Clarifying Current Practices: Planning & Engineering Division staff have submitted proposed language for tighter and clearer regulations for fractured rock wells to be included in a draft enforcement ordinance under preparation by the Water Demand Division. The draft ordinance is planned to be reviewed by the WDC in July 2010 prior to a first reading at the August 16, 2010 Board meeting. The completed ordinance will also go to the Technical Advisory Committee and the Rules and Regulations Review Committee. The fractured rock text includes refinements to Rule 11 (Definitions), Rule 20-C (Exemptions) and Rule 22-D (Mandatory Conditions of Approval) associated with WDS permits. Exhibit 2-A provides the most recent draft of the language for fractured rock only, and is subject to change.

Coordination with MCHD: District staff met with MCHD and Monterey County Planning Department staff on May 19, 2010 to provide a preview of the technical presentation on the pilot study described above. MCHD also reviewed a then-pending County ordinance that imposes a temporary moratorium (that can be extended to two years) on County Well Construction Permits for fractured rock wells in the unincorporated County areas that (a) entail parcels less than 2.5 acres in size, and (b) are in the California American Water (CAW) Monterey Division Main System. The County Board of Supervisors approved County Ordinance No. 5160 on May 25, 2010; a copy is provided as Exhibit 2-B. It is notable that MPWMD staff does not accept a WDS Application or Pre-Application/Exemption Request unless a valid MCHD Well Construction Permit is attached.

Monthly Update on WDS Applications: Since late January 2010, District staff has provided an update on well applications in fractured rock as part of the General Manager’s report at Board meetings. Exhibit 2-C provides a summary of the Applications and Pre-Applications in progress for wells in fractured rock as of June 10, 2010. An overview is provided in the “Discussion” section below.

BACKGROUND: At its January 28, 2010 meeting, the MPWMD Board of Directors did not approve Urgency Ordinance No. 143 that would have temporarily suspended receipt and processing of Pre-Applications and Applications for a MPWMD Water Distribution System (WDS) permit that is supplied by a well drilled in “fractured rock.” The Board referred additional research and discussion back to the Water Demand, Rules and Regulations Review, and Technical Advisory Committees. Ordinance No. 143 information is available at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/boardpacket/2010/20100128/20/item20.htm

Also refer to the Water Demand Committee agenda materials and minutes at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/committees/waterdemandcommittee/2010/wdcagenda2010.htm

In February 2010, District staff determined it would research the items listed below, and report back to the WDC on its progress in roughly 60 days. The May 2010 WDC meeting was postponed until June 18, 2010. The tasks include:

1. Obtain copies of well ordinances from each city/county within MPWMD.
2. Develop mailing list of fractured rock well owners in process and other interested parties.
3. Use our well database to identify clusters of wells and production values for those wells to help assess whether there are areas with resource constraints, with emphasis on smaller lots (less than 2.5 acres).
4. Research reasons why people requested replacement wells (exemptions); was it mechanical failure or was the well going dry?
5. Follow-up on wells that had been replaced, but not destroyed, and became identified monitor wells instead; which have potential as promising monitoring sites?
6. What type of monitoring in the Carmel Valley Upland is needed to get a better handle on its hydrologic health? What would the cost be for such a program?
7. Prepare legal overview (summary) on water rights associated with these types of wells, and under what conditions could MPWMD constrain use.
8. Consider a near-term MPWMD ordinance to require that: (a) all new WDS permittees must allow their wells to be monitored by MPWMD for water levels and meter readings; (b) all owners of wells do not have access to Cal-Am water until there is full compliance with SWRCB Order 95-10 and the Seaside Basin adjudication, and a water allocation is available from the affected jurisdiction; and (c) exemption criteria would change to allow a well to be inactive for only 3 years (not 10) and/or any reactivated well must have a 72-hour pumping test and MPWMD hydrogeology assessment within 3 years.
9. Address concerns about cumulative effect on Carmel River and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer (CVAA).
10. Potentially inquire whether Carmel Woods area property owners would be willing to fund a monitor well in their area to track trends.
11. Update the MPWMD website with a memorandum on wells in the Coastal Zone, similar to the existing memo on wells within the CVAA.

DISCUSSION: The following paragraphs describe MPWMD staff progress on the 11 tasks enumerated above:

TASK	ACTION TO DATE (6/10/2010)
Task 1: Obtain copies of well ordinances from each jurisdiction within MPWMD.	In progress. Certain ordinances are already on file; need to update file and assess if changes have occurred in recent years. Exhibit 2-B provides the new County ordinance.
Task 2: Develop mailing list of fractured rock well owners and interested parties.	Completed by March 31, 2010.
Task 3: Data research of MPWMD well database and related documentation to help assess potential resource constraint areas.	Pilot project that encompasses wells in the Aguajito, Carmel Woods and Carmel Views areas is nearly complete; presentation is slated for WDC June 18, 2010 meeting. This includes geographic information, geology, physical characteristics of the wells, individual and cumulative production capacities, etc. Staff plans to generate a series of charts and 3-D graphics for presentations of the initial findings to pertinent Board committee(s), to be followed by a detailed technical memorandum in summer 2010. Based on the results of the focused pilot project, the Board will need to determine if funding for a broader study is desired, and consider this possibility in the FY 2010-2011budget.
Task 4: Research reasons why people requested replacement wells (exemptions).	This task has been delayed due to other well-related priorities. On June 9, 2010, staff received a well replacement application due to inadequate supply in the pilot study area. Staff is working with the property owner to obtain more data about the well and hydrogeology.
Task 5: Assess whether replaced wells have potential as monitoring sites.	This task has been delayed due to other well-related priorities. However, testing is underway on the one well noted in Task 4.
Task 6: What type of monitoring program (and costs) in the Carmel Valley Upland areas is needed to assess its hydrologic health?	A decision on this task is pending the outcome of the pilot study (see Task 3).
Task 7: Prepare legal overview (summary) on water rights associated with these types of wells, and under what conditions could MPWMD constrain use.	Due to higher priorities for District Counsel, this task has not been requested to date. In general, property owners with overlying water rights to percolating groundwater have correlative (shared) water rights, and may use water for a “reasonable and beneficial use.”
Task 8: Consider MPWMD ordinance to require access for well monitoring, prohibit Cal-Am bailout, and allow exemption for an inactive well for only 3 years, with proof of adequate 72-hour pumping test.	Planning & Engineering staff developed draft language, which was reviewed by the Water Resources Division Manager. An ordinance should be before the WDC and other committees in July 2010. See Exhibit 2-A.
Task 9: Address concerns about cumulative effects on Carmel River and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer (CVAA).	This is a longer-term task that is pending Board decisions about the budget and priorities. Level of effort and cost depends on level of detail, comprehensiveness and reliability of conclusions desired. See also Task 3.
Task 10: Assess whether Carmel Woods property owners would fund a monitor well in their area to track trends.	This task depends on the results of pilot study, and whether a suitable existing monitor well is already available. See also Task 3.
Task 11: Update the MPWMD website with a memorandum on wells in the Coastal Zone.	Coordination with County Planning staff has begun. Goal for a new WDS Memorandum and the website update is May-June 2010.

Regarding Exhibit 2-C, in the nine years since Ordinance No. 96 was adopted in March 2001, 79 WDS permits have been issued, primarily for residential use. Roughly seventy five percent (75%) of these permitted WDS (59 approvals) are served by wells extracting water from “fractured rock” formations. An estimated 37 Pre-Applications, Exemption Requests or full WDS Applications in progress could potentially be approved for wells in fractured rock.

The Water Year 2009 production report lists nearly 400 existing non-CAW wells in fractured rock formations, including 287 wells in the Carmel Valley Upland area, 95 wells in the “Miscellaneous” area (primarily Jack’s Peak, Carmel Highlands and Highway 68 near the Monterey Airport) and 15 wells in the Cachagua area. The 13 non-Cal-Am wells in the Seaside Groundwater Basin are not considered to be fractured rock. Wells owned and operated by CAW are either alluvial or within the Seaside Basin.

Exhibit 2-C provides an overview of Applications and Pre-Applications in five categories:

Ø Recently submitted Applications that are being reviewed for completeness, especially the submitted hydrogeologic report (1 project);

Ø Applications deemed complete; permit documents in preparation for approval by District Engineer (2 projects);

Ø Applications that are incomplete or are suspended for some other reason, such as County well status for Coastal Zone parcels (6 projects);

Ø Pre-Applications/Exemption Requests received but not completed (12 projects);

Ø Pre-Applications that need review to provide guidance before applicant submits a full Application package (16 projects)

EXHIBITS

2-A Draft text related to fractured rock wells for a future MPWMD ordinance

2-B Monterey County Ordinance No. 5160 affecting certain fractured rock wells

2-C Pending WDS Applications for Fractured Rock Wells as of May 4, 2010

U:\staff\word\committees\waterdemand\2010\20100618\02\item2.doc

Prepared by H. Stern on 6/10/10 at 1:30 PM