ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
9.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JANUARY THROUGH MARCH 2026 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date:			December 15, 2025	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/
			General Manager	Line Item No.:	N/A
Prepared By:			Jonathan Lear	Cost Estimate:	N/A
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 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 January through March 2026 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California American Water’s (Cal-Am’s) Main and Satellite Water Distribution Systems (WDS), which are within the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS). The proposed budget, which is included as Exhibit 9-A, outline monthly production by source of supply that will be 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 January through March 2026 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 9-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 November 2025. Cal-Am’s annual Main system production from the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System (MPWRS) for Water Year (WY) 2026 will not exceed 3,376 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 3,376 AF from the Carmel River as set by WRO 2016-16. Additional water projects and water rights available are an estimated 1,050 AF of Pure Water Monterey Injection over this quarter, an estimated 4,392 AF from ASR Phase 1 and 2 storage remaining from WY 2022 through 2025 injection are available but is being banked for drought reserve, an estimated 75 AF from the Sand City Desalination Plant, and an estimated 138 AF from Cal-Am’s Table 13 water rights. Under Table 13 water rights, Cal-Am is allowed to produce water for in-basin uses when bypass flows are in excess of permit conditions. This water budget proposes to inject an estimated 1,050 AF of Pure Water Monterey and recover about 1,050 AF. Pure Water Monterey Expansion Project is now online and will likely inject more than the QWB reflects, however the Expansion Project is in the testing mode and any water injected will be available for production. 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.

According to the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision, CalAm’s production in the Laguns Seca Sub-Area of the Seaside Groundwater Basin has been reduced to 0 AF. The Quarterly Water Budget Group recognizes that CalAm will need to produce water to serve its customers in the Hidden Hills Distribution System and not all of the demand can be served by the intertie with the main system. Therefore, production in Laguna Seca will be tracked as a ministerial component of tracking production against the Adjudication Decision. In the most recent Rate Case, CalAm has received permission to intertie the Hidden Hills System to the Main System.

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should hear public comments, close the Public Hearing, and review the proposed quarterly water supply budget. District staff recommends adopting the budget outlined in Exhibit 9-B, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: January to March 2026.

BACKGROUND: The Water Supply Strategy and Budget prescribes production within CalAm’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems and is developed on a quarterly schedule. Staff from the District, CalAm, 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 CalAm will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream to upstream order and the Upper Valley wells will be used to support ASR injection.

If flows exceed 20 cfs at the District’s Don Juan Gage, CalAm is allowed to produce from its Upper Carmel Valley Wells, which are used to supply water for injection into the Seaside Groundwater Basin. The permitted diversion season for ASR is between December 1 and May 31. Diversions to storage for ASR will be initiated whenever flows in the river are above permit threshold values. For planning purposes, the QWB group schedules diversions to ASR storage based on operational days that would occur in an average streamflow year. CalAm may also divert under Table 13 Water Rights for in-basin use within Carmel Valley when flows are adequate. This schedule is estimated with average year streamflow conditions and daily demand for Carmel Valley. CalAm will schedule the recovery of Pure Water Monterey water stored in the Seaside Basin with the goal of removing all water injected over the operational reserve for WY 2026. 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.

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

9-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for Cal-Am Main System: January to March 2026

9-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report: January to March 2026

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