ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
16.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER 2020 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date:			September 21, 2020	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Jonathan Lear	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: CEQA Compliance: Notice of Exemption, CEQA, Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1)
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 2016-0016.

SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take action on the October through December 2020 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California American Water’s (Cal-Am’s) Main System within the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS). The proposed budget, which are included as Exhibits 16-A, shows monthly production by source of supply that is required to meet projected customer demand in Cal-Am’s Main System during the October through December 2020 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 Carmel River Basins.

Exhibit 16-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 December 2020. Cal-Am’s annual Main system production for Water Year (WY) 2021 will not exceed 9,784 acre-feet (AF). Sources available to meet customer demand are 1,474 AF from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin as set by the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision and 8,310 AF from the Carmel River as set by WRO 2016-16. I should be noted that there are several CDO milestones that if missed could potentially reduce the Effective Diversion Limit on the Carmel River by 1,000 AF per missed milestone. There are potentially 2 milestones that could affect WY 2021. The current water budget does not assume these reductions, but they will be taken into account in the future quarters if they are enacted. If production for September 2020 occurs as planned, Cal-Am will enter WY 2021 with approximately 1,190 AF of carry over ASR storage. This carryover was planned at the WY 2020 4^th quarter QWB meeting to provide an excess source of water in summer 2021 if conditions are drier than WY 2020. The schedule of production from the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer is consistent with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2016-0016. In compliance with WRO 2016-0016, any water diverted under these rights must be used to reduce unlawful diversion from the Carmel River Basin. This Quarterly Water Budget also has Cal-Am scheduled to produce Pure Water Monterey Water roughly on the schedule that the highly purified water is injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin.

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 16-B, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: October – December 2020.

BACKGROUND: The Water Supply Strategy and Budget prescribes production within Cal-Am’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems and is developed on a quarterly schedule. Staff from the District, Cal-Am, the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS), State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights (SWRCB-DWR), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cooperatively develop this strategy to comply with regulatory requirements and maximize the environmental health of the resource system while meeting customer demand. To the greatest extent pumping in the Carmel Valley is minimized in the summer months and the Seaside wells are used to meet demand by recovering native water and banked Carmel River water. Also, it was agreed that Cal-Am will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream to upstream order.

When flows decline below 20 cfs at the District’s Don Juan Gage, Cal-Am will stop production from its Upper Carmel Valley Wells. The permitted diversion season for ASR is between December 1 and May 31. ASR recovery will begin when flows decline to shift production away from the river. Pure Water Monterey recovery will also be used to shift pumping away from the river during the Low-Flow Period and will be recovered roughly at the rate it is injected because the injection of purified water writes down the Effective Diversion Limit for the Carmel River as the water is injected. This schedule is estimated with normal year streamflow conditions and daily demand for Carmel Valley. There is also a projected goal of producing 25 AF of treated brackish groundwater from the Sand City Desalination Plant in each of these three months. The group did discuss reducing this amount, but the majority of the entities decided to keep the goal of 25 AF per month to reduce pumping on the Carmel River to the maximum extent possible.

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

16-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for Cal-Am Main System: October – December 2020

16-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report: October – December 2020

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