12. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JANUARY THROUGH
MARCH 2004 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Program/Line Item No.: 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, and 2002-0002
SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and
take action on the January through March 2004 Water Supply Strategy and Budget
for the California-American Water Company (Cal-Am) Water Distribution System
(WDS). The proposed budget, Exhibit
12-A, is purposely conservative and assumes a continuation of
below-normal inflow conditions.
Specifically, the budget utilizes monthly inflows that are expected to
be equaled or exceeded 62.5% of the time at San Clemente Dam. The proposed strategy and budget is designed
to maximize the long-term production potential, protect the environmental
quality of the Carmel River and Seaside Ground Water Basins, and allow
injection of surplus water from the Carmel River Basin into the coastal
subareas of the Seaside Basin.
Exhibit 12-A
shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am for each production source. Exhibit 12-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 of 15,285 acre-feet (AF), with no more than 11,285 AF
from the Carmel River Basin and no more than 4,000 AF from the Seaside
Basin. The production from the Carmel
River Basin is consistent with SWRCB Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04 and
2002-0002.
For the first two months of Water Year
2004 (October-November 2003), Cal-Am’s production was less than the SWRCB-based
system production target by 59 AF or 2.4%.
Since April 2000, Cal-Am conservation rates have reduced community water
use and helped the community to comply with the annual SWRCB production limit.
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 12-B, Quarterly Water Supply
Strategy Report: January - March 2004.
BACKGROUND:
The Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget pertains to production
within the Cal-Am Water Distribution System for the three-month period of
January, February, and March 2004. This
strategy was developed cooperatively with staff from the District, Cal-Am, and
the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries).
Based on the relatively low rainfall and runoff amounts in the upper
watershed for the year to date (39% and 46% of average, respectively), it was
decided to assume that below-normal inflow conditions would continue through
the upcoming January-March 2004 period.
Assuming below-normal inflow, Cal-Am will
continue to limit production from its sources in the Upper Carmel Valley to no
more than 0.5 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the Russell wells during the
January-March 2004 period. In addition,
Cal-Am will continue to pump from its sources in the coastal subareas of the
Seaside Ground Water Basin through January.
During January, Cal-Am will shift its production in the Seaside Basin
from wells that draw water from the deeper Santa Margarita aquifer to wells
that draw water from the shallower Paso Robles aquifer. During this period, it
was assumed that Cal-Am will not divert surface water from San Clemente
Reservoir to the Carmel Valley Filter Plant because of water quality and
operational constraints related to the San Clemente Reservoir Drawdown Project
that has been directed by the Division of Safety of Dams. Accordingly, the
remainder of the water needed to serve Cal-Am customers and provide water to
the District’s Injection/Recovery Project in the Seaside Basin during this
quarter will be produced from the Lower Carmel Valley.
It is assumed that there will be
sufficient flow in the Carmel River in February and March to allow diversions
to be made for the Seaside Injection/Recovery Project. The projected production values are based on
the assumption that daily inflows in the upper watershed will average 75 cfs in
January, 105 cfs in February and 116 cfs in March. If actual inflows are more or less than projected, the group will
reconvene and adjust the diversion and release rates accordingly. These adjustments will take into account
flows needed for steelhead migration, spawning and egg incubation and Cal-Am’s
operational needs.
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\20031215\PublilcHearings\12\item12.doc