10. CONSIDER
ADOPTION OF APRIL THROUGH JUNE 2003 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date: March 17, 2003 Budgeted: N/A
General
Counsel Approval: 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 Conservation Agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service
and California-American Water Company to minimize take of listed steelhead in
the Carmel River
SWRCB
Compliance: Consistent with SWRCB WR
Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002
SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take
action on the April through June 2003 Water Supply Strategy and Budget for the
California-American Water Company (Cal-Am) Water Distribution System
(WDS). The proposed budget, Exhibit 10-A, is based on below normal
year inflow conditions for the remainder of the Water Year 2003 (WY 2003). Specifically, the budget utilizes inflows
that are expected to be exceeded 75 percent of the time at San Clemente
Dam. The proposed strategy and budget is
designed to maximize the long-term production potential, allow injection
testing of surplus water from the Carmel River Basin into the Seaside Basin,
and protect the environmental quality of the Seaside and Carmel Valley basins.
Exhibit 10-A shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am for
each production source. Exhibit 10-A also shows actual production
values for the water year to date.
Please note that the anticipated production values shown assume an
annual Cal-Am production totaling 15,285 AF, including 4,000 AF from the
Seaside Basin and 11,285 AF from the Carmel River Basin. The total from the Carmel River Basin is
consistent with SWRCB Order Nos. 95-10 and 98-04.
For the first five months of Water Year 2003, Cal-Am’s production is below the SWRCB-based production target by 203 acre-feet or 3.8%.
Given
that the flow below San Clemente Dam is projected to recede below 90 cfs during
the April 1-15 period and below 80 cfs during the May 1-31 period, for the
purpose of this budget it is assumed that no water will be diverted from the
Carmel River Basin for injection into the Seaside Basin during these periods.
RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive public input, close
the Public Hearing, and discuss the proposed water supply budget. District staff recommends adoption of the
proposed budget. The budget is described
in greater detail in Exhibit 10-B,
Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: April – June 2003.
BACKGROUND: The
Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget pertains to production within the
Cal-Am Water Distribution System for the three-month period of April, May, and
June 2003. This strategy was developed
cooperatively with staff from the District, Cal-Am, NOAA Fisheries, and the California Department of
Fish and Game (CDFG). Based on the fact
that San Clemente and Los Padres Reservoirs were full and spilling on March 5,
2003, it was agreed that for the remainder of March 2003, Cal-Am's mean daily
diversion through the Carmel Valley Filter Plant would be limited to 1.5 cubic
feet per second (cfs), including combined production from the Russell Wells
Nos. 2 and 4 and from the direct diversion at San Clemente Dam. During April, May, and June 2003, the
proposed budget allows Cal-Am a net diversion of no more than 92 AF in April,
73 AF in May and 50 AF in June, from its sources upstream of, and including,
Scarlett Well No. 8. This operation will
facilitate production at minimal levels in recognition of Cal-Am’s Interim
Drawdown Project at San Clemente Dam and the 2001 Conservation Agreement with
NOAA Fisheries, and the relatively low runoff conditions expected this spring. The operation of Cal-Am wells in the upper
Carmel Valley is based on the assumption that daily inflows will average 54 cfs
during April 2003. 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. These adjustments will take into account
flows needed for steelhead emigration and egg incubation.
Streamflow
is expected to decline below 40 cfs at the MPWMD gaging station at Highway One
Bridge, sometime in April. As a
consequence, the group agreed to increase production from Cal-Am wells in the
coastal subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin during April, May and June
2003, subject to increases in streamflow.
This change is consistent with requirements in SWRCB Order 98-04,
requiring that Cal-Am minimize production from the Seaside Basin when Carmel
River flow exceeds 40 cfs at Highway One.
As
part of the quarterly water supply strategy and budget discussions, Cal-Am
noted that California Department of Health Services (DHS) has required that all
use of Cal-Am’s San Carlos production well in the lower Carmel Valley be
discontinued until Cal-Am has implemented an approved plan of action to ensure
that all water from the San Carlos well meets the Surface Water Treatment
Rule. Further, Cal-Am indicated that
they are unable to provide this type of treatment at this time and,
consequently, have taken the San Carlos well out of service. When operating, the San Carlos well can
produce approximately 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm) or 4.45 acre-feet per
day. Loss of this production capacity
will constrain Cal-Am’s ability to meet system demands during peak periods and
increase the extent of drying river channel and associated risk of stranding
juvenile steelhead in the lower Carmel River.
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. Notice of this
Public Hearing has been published in The Herald. 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.
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