21. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2003 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting
Date: June 16, 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 July through September 2003 Water Supply Strategy and Budget
for the California-American Water Company (Cal-Am) Water Distribution System
(WDS). The proposed budget, Exhibit 21-A, is based on near 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 about 50 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 21-A shows the anticipated production by
Cal-Am for each production source. Exhibit 21-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 Ground Water 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
eight months of Water Year 2003, Cal-Am’s production is above the SWRCB-based
production target by 54 acre-feet or 0.8%. This difference should be reduced to zero, or
less, by the end of WY 2003, if Cal-Am production in Seaside meets goal of 560
AF/mo and overall system demand remains within the monthly goals tabulated in Exhibit 21-A.
Given the July-September
2003 period is outside of the period approved for injection in our temporary
permit from the SWRCB, no plans are included to inject water from the Carmel
River Basin into the Seaside Basin.
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 21-B,
Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: July – September 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 July,
August, and September 2003. This
strategy was developed cooperatively with staff from the District, Cal-Am,
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS). With continued
near normal flows, the proposed budget does not allow Cal-Am to divert any
water, via direct diversion from San Clemente Dam to the Carmel Valley Filter Plant,
except in the case of emergency conditions.
This limitation is consistent with the 4d rules adopted by the NMFS to
protect steelhead rearing habitats and with the Conservation Agreement (CA)
between NMFS and Cal-Am, that governs diversions during low-flow periods.[1] For purposes of the CA, the low-flow periods
are defined as times when streamflow in the Carmel River at the MPWMD gage at
Don Juan Bridge in Garland Park is less than 20 cfs for five consecutive days. This year, streamflow is expected to recede
below 20 cfs at this location on by the end of June 2003, and is expected to
remain below the 20 cfs threshold for the remainder of WY 2003.
Streamflow
had declined below 40 cfs at the MPWMD gaging station at Highway One Bridge, in
mid-May 2003. As a consequence, Cal-Am
representatives agreed to increase production from Cal-Am wells in the coastal
subareas of the Seaside Basin during the last week of May 2003. This change was
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.
Agency
representatives met with Cal-Am to discuss the July-September 2003 budget on
June 3, 2003. Previously,
representatives from the District, Cal-Am, CDF&G and the NMFS met on April
30, 2003, to negotiate the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement (2003 MOA) that governs
the releases and diversions from Los Padres and San Clemente Reservoirs during
the May-December 2003 period. Although
negotiations on the 2003 MOA are stalled due to a disagreement on how to
operate Cal-Am wells in the upper valley, the group agreed on flow conditions
and operations during the July-September period. Accordingly, the diversion and release rates
specified for the July-September 2003 Water Supply Strategy and Budget are
consistent with the proposed terms and assumed inflow conditions in the 2003
MOA. Based on flows to date, the group
is expected to reconvene in late July 2003 and adjust the release rates
accordingly.
During
the April 30 and June 3, 2003 meetings the group discussed the loss of the San
Carlos production well in the lower Carmel Valley. This well has been taken out of service due
to the federal Surface Water Treatment Rule.
In past operations, the San Carlos well could 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.
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2003\2003boardpacket\20030616\PublicHearings\21\item21.doc
[1] Under the 4d rules adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service on July 10, 2000, the Take Guidance Section, Item E. (page 42472 of the FR Vol. 65, No 132) prohibits removing water or altering streamflow when it significantly impairs spawning, migration, feeding or other essential behavioral patterns.