STATE WATER BOARD RESPONDS, OPENS HEARING

In response to the District’s request, on June 19, 2026 the State Water Board announced that its Division of Water Rights (Division) assisted by the Administrative Hearings Office (AHO), will conduct a hearing on the written record, with an opportunity for public comment and oral presentation of policy statements, to inform the State Water Board’s consideration of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District’s (MPWMD) October 21, 2025 application under Water Code section 1832 to modify Orders WR 2009-0060 and WR 2016-0016 (Application) that the Board issued to the California American Water Company (Cal-Am).

The Division will accept testimony provided under penalty of perjury and other evidence through written submissions, on two specific hearing questions:

1. Should Condition 2 of State Water Board Order WR 2009-00602 be modified to lift the moratorium on new service connections?
2. If Condition 2 is modified, is the following trigger appropriate for reimposing restrictions currently in Condition 2 such as the moratorium on new service connections?“Upon Cal-Am reporting diversions exceeding 3,376 acre-feet3 under the water rights described in Order 95-10 in any water year, the moratorium on new water service connections described in Condition 2 shall immediately be reimposed with no further action required by the Board.”If this trigger is not appropriate, what would be appropriate conditions to reimpose Condition 2?

Initial testimony was required to be filed by August 19th and can be found at the following link:

https://ftp.waterboards.ca.gov/WebInterface/login.html
Username: Cal-AmProject
Password: AccessCal-Am

Look for a folder titled “Testimony and Evidence”

The deadline to submit written rebuttal evidence is September 18th.
The Division will conduct a hybrid hearing day, held in-person and virtually on Zoom, for the public to provide oral presentation of policy statements and public comment on November 5th, followed by closing briefs due November 10th.

Water District Asks State Water Board to Drop Restrictions on New Water Meters

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (District) voted unanimously on October 20, 2025 to ask the State Water Board to modify its Cease and Desist Order (CDO) on the Carmel River and allow new service connections. The request came on the heels of the addition of a new water supply, the Pure Water Monterey Expansion, announced earlier in October, which now provides 60% of the Monterey Peninsula’s drinking water.

District General Manager Dave Stoldt explained to the District Board that California American Water (Cal-Am) has not violated its lawful water rights on the Carmel River in the past four years. The CDO was originally issued in 2009 for Cal-Am’s excessive pumping from the river. Based on a California Public Utilities Decision last August, Cal-Am is not likely to violate its rights in the foreseeable future. Stoldt said, “This is a window of opportunity for the community to ease water restrictions in favor of housing and jobs.”

The District Board submitted its application to State Regulators to modify the CDO on October 25, 2025. District staff had met with the State Water Board several times during the year and the Board was expecting the submittal. The District’s proposal would achieve the following: (1) Rescind the prohibition on new meters; (2) Maintain existing quarterly and annual reporting to the State Water Board; certain prior reporting requirements would be clarified or deleted because they have either been met on an ongoing basis or are no longer required; and (3) Create a water supply and demand monitoring regime that would provide triggers to the State Water Board that would allow them to determine if a reinstatement of the restrictions might be necessary in the future.

District Chair George Riley said, “This proposal builds on the remarkable work that has been done on the Monterey Peninsula to achieve a sustainable water supply. Modifying the CDO will allow the community to use this water to build new housing and create jobs. This would be a big win for the Peninsula.”

READ DISTRICT APPLICATION
Supplement No. 1
Supplement No. 2
Supplement No. 3
Supplement No. 4